OKLAHOMA CITY — Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-OKC, and Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, issued the following statements in response to the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency operational assessment of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
One of the primary discussions during the meeting was the success of recent criminal justice reform measures, like passing State Question 780, that have reduced prison populations and have created savings that could be used to make deeper investments into community programs that help with recidivism and drug abuse. However, the LOFT report showed that many of these savings are currently put back into DOC.
Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-OKC:
“I am encouraged by the information shared in today’s LOFT presentation regarding the positive outcomes of the criminal justice reform efforts to reduce DOC’s prison population. However, my greatest concern is the nearly 1,000 fully-funded vacant positions. There is no doubt DOC needs to have adequate staffing to ensure safety within their facilities, but I also believe the Legislature should consider where those unused dollars can be appropriated to invest in prevention programs and services – programs and services like education, health care, mental health, and substance abuse services that we know help Oklahomans live healthy and productive lives.”
Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa:
“Today’s LOFT report on the Department of Corrections shows the need for legislators and agency management to take a step back and strategically evaluate where we believe the inmate population reductions will occur due to changes such as SQ780. The inmate population of tomorrow consequently will consist of a greater percentage of violent offenders than currently, as well as an overall decrease in population. These changes require different facility, programming and staffing needs, which must be reflected in what we approve for appropriations.
“Moreover, it is abundantly clear that a lack of incarceration data at the local and county levels is a significant gap. The DOC’s implementation of a multi-million-dollar offender management system is a great step in providing us with critical information, but if we can’t also see incarceration trends at the local and county level, we will not be able to adequately provide the most effective or efficient correctional system, which is what we are paid to do.”
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