DOC BOSS WANTS TO CLOSE ONE FEMALE PRISON

Laura Pitman Would Like To See One Of Oklahoma's Female Prisons
Closed.

As the boss of the state Department of Corrections's female prisons,
Pitman knows it will take time to reduce the female prison population
enough to accomplish that, but around 700 fewer women in prison would
mean that the Eddie Warrior prison in Taft could shut its doors.

Then she would like to do it again with another prison.

Trimming about 1,400 women from the state prison rolls would mean
Oklahoma would no longer rank No. 1 in the country in female
incarceration. The state's rate would be just average.

Becoming average is on the top of Pitman's things-to-do list as she
begins work as the department's deputy director of female operations.

The position was created late last year with a goal of reducing the
number of imprisoned female offenders.

Here are the numbers: As of late January, 2,665 females were behind
bars in Oklahoma. That works out to 131 women behind bars for every
100,000 females in the state.

Oklahoma's female incarceration rate is second to Mississippi's and
nearly twice the national average of 69 women per 100,000 females.

Pitman said change both within and outside the prison system is needed
to lower the female incarceration rate.

Within the system, Pitman said, she plans to review the way women move
through the system. Her goal is to find ways to reduce their amount of
time spent behind bars.

"We'll be looking at how we classify women in terms of their risks and
needs, and do we need as many women as we have at higher security
levels than lower," Pitman said.

Increasing time earned off their sentences for good behavior and
reducing the number of days left on a sentence before moving an inmate
to a lower security level are other areas under consideration, Pitman
said.

She also plans to look at programs that will be geared towards
reducing recidivism.

Why should people care how many females are behind
bars?

"For the state of Oklahoma, the question to be answered is can we
maintain public safety and reduce the amount we spend on corrections,"
Pitman said. "I believe so because I think we over-incarcerate
low-risk offenders.

"When you are talking about a $503 million budget for the Department
of Corrections, that means you are not spending it in other areas."

In the longer term, Pitman will push to expand the use of drug and
mental health courts as alternatives to imprisoning females.

"Roughly 40 percent of our female offenders are incarcerated for
drug-related crimes," said Pitman, who had been the department's
deputy chief mental health officer .

Pitman points to Tulsa County's 2007 launching of Mental Health Court
as an example of programs that should be expanded throughout the state.

"It disturbs me that people come into contact with law enforcement
before treatment," she said. "When you don't have treatment available
in the community, unfortunately persons with mental illness come into
contact with law enforcement before they come into contact with treatment."

The Oklahoma Academy, a nonprofit organization that identifies
critical public policy issues facing the state, recommends that the
state strive to lose its No. 1 ranking in female incarceration within
the next five years.

The Oklahoma Academy also recommends that the state female
incarceration rate be reduced to less than the national average within
10 years.

Pitman said she believes Oklahoma can bring its female incarceration
rate down to the national average and maintain public safety.

"It's obviously not an overnight thing," she said, regarding the time
it will take. "It took longer than overnight to get here."

As for closing Eddie Warrior, the prison likely would not actually be
abandoned. Instead, it would more likely become a male prison and
potentially reduce the need for private prison beds for men, Pitman
said.