OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A new report says prison reforms in Oklahoma have saved the state more than $60 million in the past year.
The Oklahoman reports that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services released its analysis on Tuesday. The report estimates that the state will save about $137 million over five years.
The state reclassified some drug and property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. The change has reduced the number of people going to prison, which has lowered incarceration costs.
The report says that more than 9,000 people in the past year were convicted of such crimes and avoided being in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. That saved taxpayers more than $35 million in jail housing costs, $25 million in state incarceration costs and more than $2 million in drug court costs.
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