Growth Spurt Projected For Oklahoma Prisons

WASHINGTON (AP) A private study being released Wednesday predicts the number of people in prison will continue to grow nationwide and in Oklahoma during the next five years.<br/><br/>The study by the Pew

Wednesday, February 14th 2007, 10:55 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) A private study being released Wednesday predicts the number of people in prison will continue to grow nationwide and in Oklahoma during the next five years.

The study by the Pew Charitable Trusts says prison populations will increase by nearly 200,000 inmates a rate that's triple the overall population growth in the U.S.

The survey says there were 25,089 inmates in Oklahoma prisons in 2006 and the number is expected to grow 13 percent to 28,345 by 2011.

The survey says the increase is due in large part to get-tough on crime policies that lock up offenders for longer sentences.