Oregon Public Broadcasting

The state estimates Oregon’s prison population will shoot up by 20 percent in the next 5 years, because of a new law voters passed last fall.

The projection finds that by the end of 2012, Oregon prison cells will hold more people than the city of Coos Bay.

Ethan Lindsey reports.

In November, Measure 57 passed with ease -- by almost 400,000 votes.

Under the law, drug offenders and violent criminals spend more time in jail. Remember, law enforcement supported the measure, instead of a stricter, and far more expensive ballot measure.

Now, the state estimates the looser rules will still boost the prison population by more than 1.5 percent.

Eugene Democratic Senator Floyd Prozanski supported Measure 57 -- and says that’s just the reality of the new sentencing law's effect.

Floyd Prozanski: “I don’t know if I would use the term drastic. It basically says we’ll see a 1.6 percent increase from one year ago. And we knew, and we know, that we will continue to see increases in our prison population because of these mandatory minimum sentences.”

And yet, Prozanski points out, the state is still looking for savings from the corrections department, because of the budget shortfall confronting Oregon over the next few years.