Before 2016, stealing a smartphone in Oklahoma could be charged as a felony with the possibility of prison time. The passage of SQ 780 raised the felony theft threshold in Oklahoma from $500 to $1000, meaning a person has to steal something worth more than $1000 to be charged with felony larceny.
These changes went into effect in July 2017, and the early returns are very encouraging: statewide reports of theft fell in Oklahoma between 2016 and 2017. After SQ 780 reduced minor property crimes to misdemeanors, rates of theft continued to fall. Lower crime numbers, coupled with the sharp decline in felony filings strongly support the idea that smart justice reform can lead to both less crime and less punishment. These positive trends should help to sustain justice reform efforts as Oklahoma works to reduce its world-leading incarceration rate.
There are better ways to curb petty theft than a felony sentence
Opponents of recent Oklahoma justice reforms argued that criminality and theft would rise if Oklahoma’s felony theft amount was lowered. The data shows that the opposite has occurred. There were 3,443 fewer reports of larceny in 2017 than 2016. Felony cases involving property crime this year are also down 29 percent from 2017. SQ 780 is only gradually beginning to alter prison admission rates, but these early results are promising. The larceny rate has continued to fall even after Oklahoma turned petty theft from a felony to a misdemeanor.
It’s hard to argue that low level thieves and shoplifters are a serious threat to public safety, but prior to recent reforms, nonviolent property crime was a major driver of incarceration in this state. Between 2011 and 2015, the number of individuals entering the Oklahoma prison system for property offenses grew by 29 percent. Research shows that these harsh punishments do little to deter crime, and a low level offenders’ felony conviction carries lifelong consequences which can often lead to higher rates of recidivism. There is little evidence that more stringent criminal sentences promote public safety.
[pullquote]"Lower crime numbers, coupled with the sharp decline in felony filings strongly support the idea that smart justice reform can lead to both less crime and less punishment."[/pullquote]
Studies also show that the type of investments in substance abuse and mental health treatment envisioned by SQ 780 and SQ 781 have a proven effect on crime. A 10 percent increase in the substance abuse treatment rate reduces robbery and larceny theft rates by about 3 percent on average. Less punitive criminal penalties, economic development, education, and investments in mental health and substance abuse treatment all lead to better outcomes than so called “Tough on Crime” laws.
Smart justice reform is compatible with public safety
Reducing the criminal penalty for low level theft has become a common part of justice reform efforts across the nation. Thirty-nine states have raised their felony theft threshold since 2000, and whether a state sets its felony theft amount at $500, $1,000, or $2,000, there seems to be no significant effect on property crime and larceny rates. Florida’s felony theft threshold is remarkably low, for example. It’s a felony to steal money or goods whose value exceeds $300, but the state’s property crime and larceny rates are considerably higher than those in Pennsylvania, where the threshold is $2,000. Texas has a felony threshold of $2,500, which is more than double Oklahoma's, but Oklahoma and Texas had similar rates of criminal larceny in 2016. The broad goal of criminal justice reform in many of these states has been to reserve incarceration, the most expensive remedy of our criminal justice system, for only the most dangerous offenders. Raising these dollar amounts to account for inflation doesn’t increase crime, but it does decrease the punitive effect of felony sentences and increase the basic fairness of the system.
Oklahoma must continue doing what works
Criminality seems to be driven by a lack of access to education, mental health services, and employment, and having a felony conviction makes each of these deficits more likely. The numbers tell a clear story. Reports of theft are falling at the same time that our system has grown less punitive. Felony property crime filings declined 40 percent in Oklahoma between 2016 and 2018. We should not ignore these facts. Evidence based justice should force us to reject the harsh sentences and threat based methodologies of the recent past. Theft is often driven by need, and a smart justice system should acknowledge these issues. It shouldn’t make them worse.
The post Property crime decreased in Oklahoma as SQ 780 reduced punishments appeared first on Oklahoma Policy Institute.
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