Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council Shares Progress In Annual Report

The population of the Oklahoma County Jail fell below 1,300 near the end of 2023. It was the lowest since the 1990s, according to a report released this week by the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council.

In its sixth annual report since its inception in 2017, the group celebrated progress in diversion programs which have lessened the toll on the county's aging jail.

The facility, under the oversight of the jail trust, has been the focus of health-related controversies and previously caught the notice of the Department of Justice.

Several MAPS 4 projects in development, including plans for a new diversion hub and restoration center, are expected to propel criminal justice groups toward fewer incarcerated people.

“All of those things together, along with the behavioral care center and the new jail, are going to give us so many more options on diverting people away from incarceration and into treatment and accountability programs, like drug court, ReMerge for women, and TEEM,” said Timothy Tardibono, executive director of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council.

According to the report, Oklahoma City Police has increased its reliance on “cite and release” practices, which has kept nonviolent offenders out of jail. However, more work is needed to reduce the jail's pretrial population.

Many conversations revolve around progress on the county's future jail and behavioral health center. The site, near 1901 East Grand Boulevard, has the approval of the Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners. But Oklahoma City's planning commission denied a zoning request for the property, leading to a lawsuit against the city filed by the county.

“The big issue is the jail,” Tardibono said. “We are still waiting on the litigation to resolve. But, we think the law is really in the county's favor. And so, we think that the behavioral care center, starting in January, we think there's going to be some effort made there on construction.”

The report also gave a nod to warrant clearing events and credited the state legislature for reducing fees and fines for certain crimes.

“I think what our Criminal Justice Advisory Council has done is really reoriented the focus of our justice system in Oklahoma County toward more justice, more fairness, more efficiency,” Tardibono said.