CURBING CRIME COMPLICATED

Oklahoma does not need more prison beds. It needs fewer.

Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, said earlier this month that he
will file a bill proposing a bond issue to pay for an additional
3,800 beds at state prisons.

According to the state Department of Corrections on Nov. 1, the state
and private prisons were incarcerating more than 24,300 inmates, with
another 1,100 state prisoners being held in county jails. The annual
cost for Oklahoma's prisons is now more than half a billion dollars
to house prisoners, and Lerblance is proposing a $309.7 million,
25-year bond issue to add 3,800 more beds.

Every state needs laws and prisons, but our goal should be to lock up
as few people as possible, not as many as we can.

Some of Lerblance's $309.7 million could go a long way towards
supporting drug courts and drug rehabilitation programs to reduce the
burden that drug crimes have on our prison system. Some of
Lerblance's millions could go toward programs that teach people
skills so that they can be gainfully employed rather than a burden to
taxpayers.

Oklahoma is usually at or near the top of state rankings in the
highest percentage of its population that is incarcerated. We should
seek to be at the bottom.

Adding beds is just another poor excuse to rely on prisons more and
pretend that creates a safer society.