Pubdate: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 Source: Oklahoman, The (OK) Copyright: 2003 The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.oklahoman.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318 Author: Julie E. Bisbee INCARCERATION OF STATE WOMEN NOT SLOWING Community sentencing programs aren't really putting a dent in the steady stream of Oklahoma women going to prison, members of a task force were told Wednesday. Women are more likely to benefit from community-based sentencing, such as probation, drug treatment counseling or work release programs, but these types of programs are not cutting down on the number of women going to prison, according to statistics compiled by the Corrections Department. Per capita, Oklahoma puts more women in prison than any other state. The task force, chaired by Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin, is trying to determine why Oklahoma imprisons 130 women per 100,000 residents. The national average is about 58 women per 100,000 residents. "Community sentencing has not really changed the number of women going into prison," said Justin Jones, deputy director community sentencing with the Corrections Department. "The number of women going into prison since this program started has either maintained or increased." Of those enrolled, about 36.8 percent of women have served their time without violating rules or getting their sentence revoked. For men that number is 34.5 percent. For females, 43 percent of those who had their sentences revoked, were sent to jail for not showing up to mandatory meetings or visits, while 33 percent of men had their sentence revoked for absconding. While preliminary figures show success, it may be too early to tell how effective the $6 million program is for the 527 women and 2,265 men enrolled. Community sentencing started in 1998, but didn't get full funding until 2000 and not all counties are participating in the program either, Jones said. Only 61 of Oklahoma's 77 counties have community sentencing programs. "We are in the infancy of this program. We haven't had enough time and enough offenders to do a valid study on recidivism," Jones said. "But if you believe the research, it says treatment in the community for female offenders reduces recidivism." In 2000, when the program was fully funded about 13.8 percent of the prison population was female. In 2002, that percentage increased to about 14.8 percent, according to Corrections Department numbers. While the number of women going to prison hasn't changed much, community sentencing is diverting prison sentences for some women, especially first-time offenders. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens