Topic: Criminal Justice Reform

Arrests for possession of marijuana spiked in Oklahoma in 2016. What happened?

By: Ryan Gentzler
December 19, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In May, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) released official crime statistics for 2016. While most attention on crime rates is rightly devoted to serious crimes, OSBI noted an eye-catching development in a supplemental report: arrests for drug crimes increased… Read more [More...]

What works to stop crime (hint: it’s not incarceration)

By: Ryan Gentzler
June 29, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The debate surrounding criminal justice reform in Oklahoma generally focuses on one question: How do we reduce our very high incarceration rates without jeopardizing public safety? As Gov. Fallin said about her Justice Reform Task Force’s proposals during the 2017 legislative… Read more [More...]

Misguided budget concerns are endangering criminal justice reform

By: Ryan Gentzler
May 4, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This year’s legislative session started with high hopes for the strong reform proposals that came out of the Governor’s Justice Reform Task Force (JRTF). While most of the bills sailed through their first tests of support, many have been severely… Read more [More...]

Justice Reform Task Force recommendations could be the solution Oklahoma desperately needs

By: Ryan Gentzler
February 22, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Just before the start of the legislative session, the Justice Reform Task Force released a report that details the crisis in our state’s corrections system and recommends policy changes to deal with the crisis in a safe and effective manner. If passed… Read more [More...]

Steps forward and back in criminal justice legislation this year

By: Ryan Gentzler
June 14, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The Oklahoma Legislature took some important steps on criminal justice reform in the 2016 session. This progress is the result of a collaborative effort by dozens of stakeholders to reduce penalties on low-level crimes and make alternative sentencing more accessible.… Read more [More...]

Governor Fallin’s new, inclusive approach to criminal justice reform is bearing fruit

By: Ryan Gentzler
March 9, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Early last year, Governor Fallin issued an executive order to establish the Oklahoma Justice Reform Steering Committee to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the prison population and improve public safety. The committee, composed of the Governor, President Pro Tem… Read more [More...]

Don’t let fear make us dumb

By: Gene Perry
October 6, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Recently a terrible crime has made the headlines in Oklahoma. Shortly after being fired from a food processing plant in Moore, Alton Nolen attacked two of his co-workers with a knife, beheading one and seriously injuring another. The details of… Read more [More...]

Has Governor Fallin turned a corner on criminal justice reform?

By: Gene Perry
September 15, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Two years ago, hopes were high that Oklahoma was finally taking a different approach to criminal justice, away from policies that had given us some of the highest levels of incarceration in the world without doing much to reduce crime… Read more [More...]