“In the public safety arena, we’re at the bottom of the barrel in Oklahoma. The biggest insult the agency has to endure is … anyone making less than $23,800 a year automatically qualifies for food stamps.”

-Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh, advocating for a 5 percent raise for his agency’s staff. The typical starting salary for correctional officers is $2,200 per month before taxes (Source)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Gentzler worked at OK Policy from January 2016 until November 2022. He last served as the organization's Reserach Director and oversaw Open Justice Oklahoma. He began at OK Policy as an analyst focusing on criminal justice issues, including sentencing, incarceration, court fines and fees, and pretrial detention. Open Justice Oklahoma grew out of Ryan’s groundbreaking analysis of court records, which was used to inform critical policy debates. A native Nebraskan, he holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma and a BA in Institutions and Policy from William Jewell College. He served as an OK Policy Research Fellow in 2014-2015.

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