Oklahoma Department of Corrections population hits record 62,000

Oklahoma City - On April 25, 2017 during the monthly Board of Corrections meeting at the Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy, Oklahoma ODOC Director Joe M. Allbaugh informed board members that the agency had a record number of individuals in the system. "Today we have 62,000 in our system," said Director Allbaugh. "What bothers me is back in December we hit a record population of 61,000. It has taken just four months for an additional 1,000 people to be included in our numbers of incarcerated, supervised, and county jail backup."

ODOC population numbers (04/25/2017):

• 33,865 - Supervision (GPS monitored, community supervision, probation/parole)
• 26,380 - Incarcerated (Prisons and halfway houses)
• 1,755 - County jail backup (People who have received judgment/sentencing and awaiting transport to ODOC)

State prisons are at 109% inmate capacity, Director Allbaugh said relief is needed immediately, "Programs are the way to get us out of this pickle long-term. In the short-term the only thing we can do is hope and pray the legislature will step up and give us the necessary money to acquire, rent, beg, or borrow more additional beds to handle the influx."

The Crime and Justice Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts have projected that if there is no action taken to reduce Oklahoma's prison population that ODOC will see a population increase of 25% over the next 10-years. Oklahoma will need three additional prisons to absorb those numbers at an estimated taxpayer cost of $1.2-billion in capital needs and an additional $700-million in operating costs.

Director Allbaugh also informed the board that there are currently 261 probation officers averaging a workload of 130 cases each. ODOC also has 1,803 correctional officers (CO) at facilities across the state. Hiring CO's has been one of Allbaugh's top priorities since heading up the agency.