Working on ways to be smarter on crime
Several years ago, I asked the Legislature to work with me on issues holding Oklahoma back from achieving its fullest potential. One of these issues is the number of people in our prison system.
This spring, I held a news conference to highlight the impact incarceration has on children. About a dozen children came from the Little Light Christian School to the Capitol to talk about the impact having a parent in prison has had on their lives. They discussed the challenges of how and where to go to school, and even mentioned that their parent had “messed up and had to go away for a while.”
The children recited their school pledge and sang their favorite song. It was a beautiful, yet heartbreaking moment clearly illustrating the very human collateral damage behind over incarceration.
Women are the fastest-growing segment of the prison population, and most of them are mothers. Oklahoma has the highest rate of incarcerated women in the country. Many of these women have been victims of serious crimes themselves. Unfortunately, these victims often turn to illegal actions to cope, from drugs to self-medicate or petty theft to provide income — all actions that lead to our justice system.
Without jeopardizing public safety, on the state level we can — and must — implement smart-on-crime, datadriven solutions to safely and prudently fix our criminal justice systems. Community and personal safety will remain a top priority, but there are many proven policy solutions to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable and not break the state’s budget.
On Tuesday, I was the keynote speaker to experts and advocates for criminal justice reform in Washington, D.C., at a summit to discuss best practices and poli- cies to reverse the explosion in our female prison population. The summit included federal lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, members of law enforcement, the brightest policy minds in the country, and formerly incarcerated women. Together we explored the drivers of incarceration, and shared best practices on how to treat the underlying issues that lead women into poor choices and ultimately behind bars.
I discussed ongoing criminal justice reform efforts in Oklahoma, and highlighted a successful proven program — Tulsa’s Women in Recovery. This program, begun as a pilot in 2009, offers female prisoners counseling, drug treatment services, employment assistance, and even parenting, wellness and relapse prevention classes.
The program’s success is impressive. While the number of women in Oklahoma prisons increased by nearly 10 percent in fiscal year 2016, it dropped by 24 percent in Tulsa. In WIR’s most recent graduating class, every woman had a job waiting for her upon graduation and almost all were back in contact with their children.
I’m grateful to the Kaiser Family Foundation for supporting WIR. The state also has pledged its support: I signed a contract earlier this year that will provide funding for every woman who Women in Recovery successfully diverts from incarceration. That’s good news for taxpayers. We spend about $22,500 annually to keep a woman in prison. A portion of that money will now go to WIR.
Smart-on-crime policies for nonviolent, low-level offenders while keeping dangerous violent offenders locked up, addressing substance abuse, and establishing more diversion and treatment programs are all critical to building safe, healthy and prosperous communities.