OREGON

Oregon has led the western states in prison population growth since the state's harsh Ballot Measure 11 took effect in 1995. Justice Strategies has analyzed crime and incarceration trends in Oregon and tracked the growth in the state’s female prison population since 2004.

Oregon women hard-hit by prison population growth

Women's prison population growth outstripped growth in the men's population in every state during the past 27 years. A different trend has emerged since the end of 1999. Women continue to be disproportionately impacted in states where overall growth rates remain high.

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Did Oregon's Measure 11 work? Other States Achieve Greater Crime Reductions at Lower Cost

Supporters of Ballot Measure 11 claim that the reform has served as a cost-effective crime control strategy. Yet a comparison of crime patterns and incarceration rates in Oregon with patterns in other states shows that remarkable reductions in crime rates have occurred elsewhere without recourse to a huge and costly expansion of prison capacity.

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