By Rich Fisher
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-977799.mp3
Tulsa, Oklahoma – On this installment of our show, we're discussing the so-called Justice Reinvestment Initiative. Last month, Kris Steele, the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, announced that the Sooner State had been chosen to participate in this initiative, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Steele, who's one of two guests on our program today, tells us that the initiative will analyze criminal justice statistics in our state and then, hopefully, will implement policies (based on such analysis) to reduce crime in Oklahoma while also decreasing the population of our seriously over-crowded prison system. Also on our show: Robert Coombs, a Senior Policy Analyst and Public Affairs Manager at the Council of State Governments Justice Center. This agency --- working alongside Oklahoma politicians from both parties, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement organizations, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections --- will be conducting the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (which is currently in its initial, stats-analyzing phase).