In 2016, Oklahoma voters approved sweeping criminal justice reforms, but not much is being delivered.
Money meant to go towards mental health and substance abuse programs still isn’t there. There are also budgeting issues at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
One report found the DOC should have saved over $56 million dollars over the last two years due to a substantial drop in inmates.
The plan was to reduce sentences for non-violent crimes which would bring down the number of inmates inside Oklahoma prisons. That would save money which would then fund mental health and substance abuse programs.
There was a 17 percent drop in inmates, yet taxpayers are spending more to fund the Department of Corrections.
The DOC says the savings have been used towards improving working conditions for the staff and living conditions for inmates.
But taxpayers are wondering about the millions of dollars sitting there that could be going to education, substance abuse, mental health, and other social services. Complaints about a lack of transparency in DOC’s budgeting process have arisen.
There have been across-the-board raises throughout DOC, which the department defends, saying employees have earned the raises and work in hard conditions.
Oklahoma’s prison population is projected to continue to fall and new technology in prisons should also continue driving down costs. The department said where the money goes will continue to be a conversation and a priority.
But taxpayers want the surplus funds to be top priority.
Total funding this year for DOC was over $600 million, with money coming from job programs that inmates participate in
while behind bars, through Oklahoma Correctional Industries.
But voters want to see the money go towards mental health and substance abuse treatments that still aren’t there, and are looking to blame the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
