TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s state prison population has dropped below 25,000 for the first time in more than a decade, but the system is still overcrowded.
The Tulsa World reports that the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ weekly population count for Jan. 21 was 24,992.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics year-end data shows that 2009 was the last year the state’s prison population was below 25,000.
The system is at 101% capacity, with state institutions at 109% and contracted private prisons at 93%.
Oklahoma’s prisons are about 1,400 inmates over capacity, and the system is supplemented with 2,065 temporary beds.
