Oklahoma’s criminal justice program must provide the state’s residents with peace of mind through public safety. The following sections briefly examine the areas of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system most critical in accomplishing those tasks.

Answering the following questions can help one garner a basic understanding of crime and criminal justice in Oklahoma:

• What criminal rehabilitation programs are used in Oklahoma?
• Are there alternatives to incarceration in Oklahoma?
• How many people are incarcerated in Oklahoma?
• What are the biggest prisons in Oklahoma?
• What is Oklahoma’s recidivism rate?
• What is Oklahoma’s crime rate?

The sections of this article aim to answer these questions, starting with Oklahoma’s prison population. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (a federal body tasked with gathering data on U.S. prisons) reported that Oklahoma has the fourth-highest incarceration rate in the nation. Only Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are ahead of the Sooner State in terms of the rate at which U.S. states incarcerate their residents. Oklahoma incarcerates 555 people for every 100,000 living in the state, well ahead of Arizona (453 per 100,000) but just behind Arkansas (559 per 100,000). For context, the national incarceration rate is about 350 for every 100,000.¹

The National Institute of Corrections released a report outlining Oklahoma’s prisons, incarcerated populations, Department of Corrections staff and budget, and the state’s Community Corrections population. According to the data, Oklahoma manages 93 jails across 77 counties. As of 2019, the jail population was 10,670 (mostly comprising people serving pretrial incarceration or relatively short jail terms for minor, nonviolent offenses).²

Oklahoma also manages 24 state prisons, which hold 25,679 prisoners. The state has an annual Department of Corrections budget of $603,671,000. According to the Urban Institute, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is the state’s seventh-costliest budget item. Finally, Oklahoma also runs a Community Corrections program that manages 39,589 people on probation and 1,959 on parole.³

Oklahoma relies on private prisons to meet some of its incarceration needs. According to the Sentencing Project, Oklahoma contracted with private prisons in 2000 to incarcerate 6,931 prisoners. By 2019, that number had fallen to 6,474, meaning the state still relies on private institutions to hold about 25% of its incarcerated population.⁴

Prison Rodeo

Colloquially referred to as “Big Mac,” the Oklahoma State Penitentiary (OSP) is the largest prison in the state, covering 1,556 acres and holding about 764 inmates. The OSP is known for its “prison rodeo,” an annual rodeo in which incarcerated individuals take part.⁵

Undoubtedly, one of the best ways to determine the efficacy of a state’s criminal justice program is to study the crime and recidivism rates. According to federal data from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Oklahoma records about 17,000 violent crimes annually.⁶

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation also publishes data on crime across the Sooner State, recording the following for 2020:⁷

• 287 murders
• 2,245 rapes/sexual assaults
• 2,293 incidences of robbery
• 13,125 incidences of aggravated assault

On average, Oklahoma’s state-reported data matches the federal data cited above. Since 2011, Oklahoma has recorded anywhere from 15,800 to 18,300 violent crimes per year.

Image source: www.okc.gov

Perhaps the most important metric to consider when examining a state’s criminal justice system is its recidivism rate. According to federal data, Oklahoma has a recidivism rate of about 21.2%, meaning its criminal justice system is not working for about one in five prisoners who go through it. According to the state’s reporting, recidivism in Oklahoma is likely closer to 23%.⁸

Oklahoma criminal reform programs vary in scope and the type of services offered to help reform and rehabilitate offenders. From community rodeos for inmates to educational programs within prisons in Oklahoma, the state offers a variety of services but could benefit from focusing more intently on the following:

• substance abuse programs for offenders who misuse drugs and alcohol or who suffer from addiction
• vocational training and job skills programs to help offenders learn valuable trades for post-incarceration
• in-prison programs that teach life skills and successful coping strategies to help offenders live crime-free lives

While every state provides some degree of incarceration alternatives, Oklahoma’s current offering of alternatives to incarceration should be expanded. If non-incarceration rehabilitation programs are expanded, such programs (especially educational programs for prisoners in Oklahoma) will provide better services for Oklahoma offenders and help them overcome the criminal inclinations that brought them to prison in the first place.

Looking to the future, Oklahoma should attempt to expand incarceration alternatives, reduce reliance on private prisons, and reduce recidivism by offering evidence-based criminal reform programs.