Q&A with OKC Thunder Chairman Clay Bennett about June 28 vote for new county jail

On June 28, Oklahoma County voters will have an opportunity to approve the construction of a new county jail without having to raise taxes to do it. The new jail will replace the current jail that is overcrowded, outdated and poorly designed. This new facility will be more effective, more cost efficient and will help keep us safer.

Related: Campaign announced to support county jail initiative 

VeloCity’s editorial staff recently sat down with Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman and Dorchester Capital President Clay Bennett for a Q&A session to discuss the importance and benefits of building a new jail for Oklahoma County.

VeloCity: You have been involved in criminal justice reform for some time. Why is now the right time to move forward with replacing our jail?

Clay Bennett: For six years, we have been working to really understand our system. We found that we were keeping too many people in the jail for the wrong reasons. We also found the system was not functioning efficiently, so many times people were kept longer than needed. We have reduced the daily population by about 1,000 people. At the same time, we now have a better understanding of the programs necessary to serve the population better, and to continue to reduce incarceration. We now know what type of jail, and size of jail, our community needs. I also think this process has given our community a better understanding of the need for a different approach to criminal justice, which we can implement more effectively with this new facility. Fortunately, we also have a situation where an expiring tax allows us to make this move without raising taxes.

Why do you feel inclined to step out and lead this effort?

Replacing the jail is a crucial step in continuing our criminal justice reform efforts. This new facility will give us a chance to stop the cycle of incarceration for many people, which will improve the safety of our community and provide opportunities for rehabilitation and restorative justice. This is a generational problem that we have an opportunity to solve, and we should take advantage of that.

As the June 28 vote to fix the jail quickly approaches, what feedback have you had from the community concerning the construction of a new jail?

Overwhelmingly, I hear people say let’s just fix it. I think everyone understands that the current situation is not sustainable and that we must start over and do something very different than what we’ve been doing.

Learn more: www.fixthejail.com

Oklahoma City grew by more than 100,000 people over the last decade – one of just 14 cities across the nation to do so – making it the 20th largest city in the U.S. How will that growth impact the need for a new jail?

Population growth is something we considered when proposing a size for this new facility. We are currently averaging around 1,600 inmates, and we expect that number will continue to decline as we implement additional reforms in the system. At the same time, we know we have a growing population. We want to build a facility that will be sized correctly for the next 20 to 30 years, so we are planning to build a facility that can be expanded if necessary. We think this is the right size to prevent overcrowding, but it isn’t so large that the system can become lax about keeping the numbers as low as possible.

How will this new facility differ from the current one?

The current facility is incredibly inefficient. The new facility will be designed by architects with a depth of experience designing jails. The first significant difference is going from a high-rise building to a single floor which will allow for easier movement of people in and out. Another big change will be purpose-built medical and mental health facilities that will serve the needs of the population, where the current medical facility is on the 13th floor in a converted cell block and doesn’t have easy access. We also have room to place diversion programs on site to keep people from ever being booked into the jail at all.

What do you say to those naysayers out there, who say that instead of a new jail, we should invest in more treatment facilities or accountability programs?

First, we need more treatment facilities – they aren’t wrong about that. But the reality is that we have dangerous people in our community that need to be incarcerated. The vast majority of the people in our jail are not convicted and are awaiting trial. We want that to be a safe, humane, efficient environment. There isn’t really a choice. We need a new jail. And we need that jail to have better options that allow our community to address addiction and mental illness.

There were so many problems with the construction of the current jail. How will this process be different?

This process couldn’t be more different. The recommendation for the new jail started with the Criminal Justice Advisory Council – so all the players in the system have had input into the process to get to this recommendation. The consultants who are supporting the process are experienced in jail construction, and the county commissioners recognize that the county needs professional support and oversight – just like what the city has been successful using in MAPS. There will be citizen oversight of the process and an owners’ rep will help to plan the project. The entire process will be transparent, and accountability measures will be in place. We will not let the mistakes of the past be repeated.

Learn more: www.fixthejail.com

(NOTE: If you are a registered voter living in Oklahoma County, no matter what city or jurisdiction, you will be able to vote in the June 28 election. If you are not a registered voter, there is still a very small window when you can register. Per state law, you need to register 25 days prior to the election. To vote on June 28, that means you will need to be registered by June 3.)

This story originally appeared in the June 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.