Press release
OKLAHOMA CITY --Some media outlets are erroneously reporting the impact to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections from a package of criminal justice reform bills. The current language will help reduce ODOC’s inmate population by an estimated 4,851 beds.
When the bills were first introduced at the Capitol, the estimation was more than 9,000 beds. Compromise between lawmakers necessitated the reduced number. Some media outlets are reporting the 9,000 bed number. ODOC’s figures on the effects come from the Crime and Justice Institute.
“Even though the package of bills will not provide as much relief to ODOC’s population as they were originally introduced, passage of these measures is a step in the right direction as we face dangerous population levels,” ODOC Director Joe Allbaugh says.