Oklahoma prison population at lowest level in a decade

OKLAHOMA CITY (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 percent capacity, with state institutions at 109 percent and contracted private prisons at 93 percent.

Oklahoma’s prisons are about 1,400 inmates over capacity, and the system is supplemented with 2,065 temporary beds.