OK County voters approve bond issue to build new jail; Chamber’s work during campaign instrumental

Voters in Oklahoma County have spoken. A new county jail will soon replace the current jail, which has endured decades of overcrowding, infrastructure issues, health violations, and inadequate security and staffing.

On June 28, nearly 60% of registered voters living in Oklahoma County approved a $260 million bond issue to construct the new jail. Officials expect the facility will be completed by the end of 2026. Although the exact site where the jail will be built has yet to be determined, county and city officials said it should be located no more than 10 miles from downtown. The next step in the process is to form a citizens’ oversight committee, similar to the one created for the MAPS projects, whose purpose would be to help ensure the design and construction of the jail will be done correctly and transparently.

“First of all, I want to thank Oklahoma County voters for going to the polls on June 28 to cast their votes for funding a new county jail,” said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater OKC Chamber, which spearheaded the “Fix the Jail” campaign.

“It’s no secret that the jail has been plagued for years with a variety of issues and obstacles that essentially cannot be fixed just by simply renovating the current facility. Building a whole new jail is truly the only viable option that makes sense, and we are thrilled that voters agreed with that assessment,” Williams said. “Oklahoma City’s business community wholeheartedly supported the plan to build a new structure, and the Chamber will continue to be involved in this and other justice-related matters and issues for the future.”

The county jail or Oklahoma County Detention Center, as it is officially called, was first built in 1991 and has since been besieged with various issues and problems, so much so that the U.S. Department of Justice eventually intervened and threatened to take over control of the jail if the county did not fix the problems.

Overcrowding has arguably been one of the most pressing issues facing the jail since its inception. Originally built to hold 1,200 detainees, the facility has throughout its 30-year history topped more than 2,500 detainees, including a one-time high of 2,617 in 2004. More recently in 2017, the jail had a one-day population of 2,237. But through the collaboration and cooperation of many partners, including the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Advisory Council, the Chamber, Jail Trust and Oklahoma County commissioners, those numbers have decreased significantly during the last five years, dropping to about 1,400 detainees earlier this year.

Despite fewer detainees than in years past and other temporary improvements at the jail, it does not diminish the fact that the 13-story facility needed to be replaced with a newer and more efficient structure that would be safer for everybody inside and outside the jail, and would provide detainees with better living conditions. The new jail, which will be just two stories, will also house mental health and substance abuse facilities, along with diversion programs, that will get people the help they need quicker in order to become productive members of society sooner.

This article originally appeared in the July 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.