DOC program change the right call
The head of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections recently announced a program change that took effect this week and is the right move, even if it will lengthen prison stays for many inmates.
Director Scott Crow says the agency did away with the Good Conduct Achievement Credit Program, which was established about a decade ago. It was separate from a credit program established by the Legislature and awarded to inmates in each of the system's four class levels.
Under that program, inmates have the opportunity to earn good behavior credits that cut days off their sentences. As inmates are promoted to higher levels, an increasing number of credits is possible, provided their behavior and their adherence to prison programs is deemed satisfactory.
A committee reviews inmates' class levell every four months. Factors considered in deciding whether to promote an inmate include good conduct, education or work assignments, cleanliness and interactions with staff.
Under the Good Conduct Achievement Credit Program, inmates received days of credit in addition to the credits granted under the statutory program. Unlike the statutory program, the other lacked any real structure, Crow said.
Crow, a 24-year veteran of the agency who became fulltime director in December 2019, said he and his staff have been reviewing all DOC's programs. “This is one program we identified where we weren't sure of the legal basis for us to do what we were doing,” he said Monday.
The DOC took its concerns to the state attorney general's office, which advised that indeed, the program had no legal basis.
“I am all about doing everything we can do transition inmates back into society, but what we can't do is double dip …” Crow said. “I don't want there to be a situation where we're releasing people early who shouldn't be.”
The change is not retroactive — no inmate will lose the credits already earned, Crow said. However, it is estimated that without the extra credits, about 80% of affected inmates will spend an additional 5-6 days per month in prison. Thus, the overall prison population will grow by 3.6% in the next two years before declining over time.
The system is better equipped today to handle that growth than it was a few years ago, because inmate capacity has fallen to about 90%, largely as the result of a series of reforms. The down side, of course, is that the hoped-for exit date will change for many inmates.
“This is one of those things that's very sensitive,” Crow said, “… but we are going to do the right thing.”
His agency, he said, is mandated to follow the edicts handed down by the Legislature and the courts.
“My responsibility … is to make sure we do just that,” he said. “If the Legislature wants to consider applying more credits, that's great.”
Lawmakers, take note.