Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton plans to meet this week or next with Pardon and Parole Interim Director JariAskins to discuss the possible early release of certain nonviolent offenders due to prison overcrowding.
The Board of Corrections approved a recalculation of the prison system’s capacity Thursday, showing the state’s facilities are now at 116 percent of capacity.
Once the state’s prison population is over capacity, the Pardon and Parole Board can begin considering nonviolent offenders for parole who are within six months of their release dates, according to state law.
NewsOK reported that board member Linda Neal said,
“That we are at 116 percent in state beds, but we are funded for 67 percent in staffing. That is a, well, it’s a formula for disaster, as we all know who are sitting in this room.”
NewsOk also reported
Patton said he plans to ask the Legislature for additional state funds to staff those facilities at 100 percent, but also recognizes that low pay levels create difficulties in hiring. Especially in some of the rural areas and areas surrounded with the oil fields,” Patton said. “Yeah, it’s tough to recruit with our salaries.”
Correctional officers were given an 8 percent pay increase in July, their first raise in eight years, but officers still start at less than $13 per hour.
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