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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2016
Governor Mary Fallin Announces Initiative to Improve State’s
Criminal Justice System
OKLAHOMA CITY — Governor Mary Fallin today launched a
comprehensive review of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system aimed at developing
data-driven reforms to better protect public safety, hold offenders accountable
and control corrections costs.
Fallin charged the Oklahoma Justice Reform Task Force
with submitting reform recommendations that can be considered during the 2017
legislative session.
“Criminal justice reform is
a priority for my administration and I am confident that we can find ways to
make our communities safer and cut the growing cost of our state’s corrections
system,” said Fallin. “With the task
force, we have the right people and the right process to generate reforms that
will improve public safety by keeping violent and career criminals behind bars
and directing resources to programs that reduce rates of re-offending.”
The task force continues the work of the governor’s
earlier criminal justice efforts, which included sentencing modifications for
low-level drug and property crimes.
Oklahoma’s prison population has increased 10 percent
in just five years, driven in part by a 20 percent growth in admissions. State
prisons also have seen a 21 percent increase in the female population since
2011.
The rising prison numbers mean the state spends half a
billion dollars annually on corrections.
Without reform, the state could be required to spend
even more money on prisons, which could include building new facilities or
contracting out for additional beds.
The governor’s task force is made up of
representatives from all branches of state government and an array of Oklahoma
criminal justice stakeholders. It will spend the next six months analyzing the
state’s prison, parole and probation populations and examining evidence-based
alternatives to prison and risk-reduction strategies.
In developing proposals for reform, the group’s
priorities will be to promote public safety and hold offenders accountable, control
corrections spending and taxpayer costs and develop cost effective strategies
to increase public safety and reduce recidivism.
The task force, which is chaired
by Fallin, includes 17 additional members:
- First Assistant
Attorney General Mike Hunter
- Department of
Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh
- Department of
Mental Health Commissioner Terri White
- Oklahoma Bureau
of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control (OBN) Director John Scully
- Sen. Greg Treat
- Rep. Terry
O’Donnell
- Jari Askins, administrative director of the courts
- Former House
Speaker Kris Steele, director of The Education and Employment Ministry
- Tulsa County
District Court Judge Doug Drummond
- District
Attorney Mike Fields, president of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association
- District
Attorney David Prater
- Oklahoma County
Public Defender Robert Ravitz
- Oklahoma City
Chamber of Commerce President Roy Williams
- Tulsa Chamber
of Commerce President Michael S. Neal
- YWCA of
Oklahoma City CEO Jan Peery
- Layne Subera, chairman
of OBN Commission
- Adam Luck, member,
Board of Corrections
The Crime and Justice Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts will
provide technical assistance to the task force. The groups have helped other
states, including Georgia, Mississippi, South Dakota and Utah, with justice
reform strategies over the past several years.
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Web: www.governor.ok.gov
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GovernorMaryFallin
Twitter: www.twitter.com/GovMaryFallin
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