Oklahoma selected for intensive criminal justice study | NewsOK.com

Oklahoma selected for intensive criminal justice study NewsOK.com

"State leaders Thursday promised a detailed study of Oklahoma's criminal justice system with a goal of improving public safety and reducing prison overcrowding and costs.

House Speaker Kris Steele, who successfully pushed last session for programs to divert more nonviolent offenders from state prisons, announced that Oklahoma was selected for the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, a program funded in part through the federal Department of Justice.

“Thirty-six states have seen violent crime rate reductions in recent years, but Oklahoma's violent crime rate remains unacceptably high,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “The Justice Reinvestment Initiative will determine why this is the case so policies can be developed to achieve better outcomes through our justice system.”

Oklahoma has in prison more women per capita than any other state, and its overall incarceration rate ranks third in the nation. Oklahoma's prison population has grown from 22,600 in 2000 to nearly 26,000 now, while the budget has increased from $366 million to about $460 million in the same time. More than half of Oklahoma's inmates are in prison for nonviolent offenses.

While most states have seen a dramatic drop in violent crime rates in the past decade, Oklahoma's violent crime rate has increased slightly and ranks as the 11th highest in the country, according to the Department of Justice."

Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-selected-for-intensive-criminal-justice-study/article/3579880#ixzz1QD9scYJb?