Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2003
Source: Daily Ardmoreite, The (OK)
Copyright: 2003 Daily Ardmoreite
Contact: http://ardmoreite.com/stText/sendLetter.html
Website: http://www.ardmoreite.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1574
Author: Tulsa World, The

PRISON REFORM WOULD HELP BUDGET SHORTFALL

Reforming the way Oklahoma handles criminals would go a long way toward 
solving the state's fiscal problems. For example: If Oklahoma reduced its 
incarceration rate to the national average, about $138 million could be 
saved annually. What's the shortage in schools? About $158 million.

In other words, if the state spent less on boarding miscreants, it could 
spend more on education and the consensus is that spending more on 
education would mean fewer criminals.

One might argue that the expenditures on imprisonment are worth it because 
the policies keep crime down.

But that's not the case.

The study showed that Oklahoma is sending twice as many people to prison as 
in 1983 without affecting the crime rate. The state's corrections policies 
obviously are not working.

It's time the whole corrections approach is changed. The good news is that 
millions of dollars can be saved at the same time thousands of Oklahomans 
are given a much better chance of becoming productive citizens.
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MAP posted-by: Beth