Oklahoma lawmaker circulates criminal justice reform survey

Oklahoma lawmaker circulates criminal justice reform survey
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The chairman of an Oklahoma House committee on criminal justice has launched a survey on violent and non-violent crimes as lawmakers consider changes to the state’s criminal justice laws.
Republican Representative Scott Biggs, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections, said Friday he sent a survey to 150 people across the state that asks which crimes are violent and nonviolent.
Biggs, a former prosecutor from Chickasha, has been critical of efforts to reform some of Oklahoma’s criminal justice statutes to reduce overcrowding in the state’s prison system. Biggs says he opposes proposals that reduce punishment for violent criminals who return to communities where they pose risks to public safety.
Biggs says the survey will be used in an interim study he’s preparing on criminal justice legislation.