The Oregon Department of Corrections reported to the legislature’s Interim Judiciary Committee that Measure 11 and the Repeat Property Offender law are driving the increase in Oregon’s prison population. Without the longer sentences required by these two laws, Oregon would need 4,743 fewer prison beds. That translates into about three entire prisons that Oregon wouldn’t need. Seventy percent of these additional 4,743 prison beds are due to Measure 11 alone.

Coffee Creek, Oregon’s only women’s prison, is currently over capacity and will add a total of 324 prison beds by 2011. The Repeat Property Offender law has greatly affected the women’s prison population. The law includes identity theft and forgery --- the crimes of many of the women serving longer sentences.

ODOC also reported that Oregon’s prison population will continue to increase through 2015, but the population increase won’t be as large as initially predicted. Oregon's prison population is growing at 4.4% over this biennium. Between 2013 and 2015, the prison population will increase by 3.3%. 

This newsbrief is based on a story in The Oregonian, Growth of prison population projected to taper off by 2015 [1]. If the link is broken, check their archives.