Facts and Policy Reforms for Oregon
Like most states, Oregon’s prison population has exploded in recent decades, growing nearly fivefold between 1980 and 2016.
As of Jan. 1, 2018, there were 14,713 people imprisoned in the state.
One factor that fuels mass incarceration in Oregon is the prevalence of prison sentences for property offenses like burglary, theft, or forgery. One in five people in Oregon’s prisons were convicted of such an offense. And recidivism rates are high for people imprisoned for these offenses –among people released in 2013, those most likely to be reincarcerated after being on parole or post-prison supervision were those originally convicted of drug possession and property crimes, calling into question the appropriateness of prison to breaking the cycles of those crimes.
Unsurprisingly, Oregon’s mass incarceration crisis has had an enormous impact on people of color, especially Black people. As of 2014, the state had the seventh-highest rate of imprisoned Black people in the country. While Black people make up only 1.9 percent of Oregon’s population, they represent 9.1 percent of its prison population. Ending mass incarceration is a critical – although insufficient – step towards addressing racial disparities in Oregon’s criminal justice system as well as its broader society.
Women are also being sent to prison in Oregon at alarming rates. The number of women imprisoned in Oregon has more than doubled since 2000. Nearly half of the women who entered prison in 2016 were convicted of a property offense, which suggests that Oregon’s punitive property crime sentencing laws have a disproportionate impact on women.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Oregon can dramatically reduce its prison population by implementing just a few sensible reforms:
- Reforming mandatory minimum and severe sentencing enhancement laws.
- Offering alternatives to incarceration that provide addiction treatment, mental health care, employment, housing, health care, and vocational training.
- Modifying sentences for Robbery 2, Assault 2, and Sex Abuse 1, which are offenses that can include such a broad spectrum of behavior that the severity of the sanctions can be fundamentally out of alignment with the circumstance.
- Providing access for people in prison to “earned time,” whereby they can earn time off their sentence by constructively using their time in prison.
- Expanding eligibility for Second Look, which is a policy designed to reduce recidivism and improve the future prospect of youth in the system.
If Oregon were to carry out these and other reforms outlined in this Smart Justice 50-State Blueprint, 6,894 fewer people would be in prison by 2025, saving over $500 million that Oregon could spend on schools, health care, and other resources that would strengthen communities. (Total prison population reduction may be +/- 1 due to rounding.)
For more information, along with detailed breakdowns of Oregon’s prison population and the reforms needed to reduce it, click here.