Oklahoma § 57-21 - Contraband in jails or penal institutions - Penalties

§ 57-21. Contraband in jails or penal institutions - Penalties

A. Any person who, without authority, brings into or has in his

or her possession in any jail or state penal institution or other

place where prisoners are located, any gun, knife, bomb or other

dangerous instrument, any controlled dangerous substance as defined

by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, any alcoholic

beverage as defined by Section 1-103 of Title 37A of the Oklahoma

Statutes, money or financial documents for a person other than the

inmate or a spouse of the inmate, including but not limited to tax

returns, shall be guilty of a Class B3 felony offense and, upon

conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the

Department of Corrections for a term of not less than one (1) year

nor more than five (5) years, or by a fine of not less than One

Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars

($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. Provided, the

provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit any Department of

Corrections employee who has a valid handgun license pursuant to the

Oklahoma Self-Defense Act to keep a firearm in a vehicle on any

property set aside for the parking of any vehicle, whether occupied

or unoccupied, at any state-owned prison facility, provided the

employee has provided annual notification to the Department of

Corrections of the brand name, model, serial number, and owner

identification information of the firearm, and the firearm is

secured and stored in a locked metal storage container located in a

locked vehicle. The storage container will be secured in the

vehicle by a lockable chain or cable or by utilizing hardware

provided by the manufacturer.

B. If an inmate is found to be in possession of any item

prohibited by this section, upon conviction, such inmate shall be

guilty of a Class D1 felony offense and shall be punished by

imprisonment as provided for in subsections B through F of Section

20N of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

C. If the person found to be in possession of any item

prohibited by this section has committed, prior to the commission of

an offense in violation of this section, two or more felony

offenses, and the possession of contraband in violation of this

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories

section is within ten (10) years of the completion of the execution

of the sentence for any prior offense, such person, upon conviction,

shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in

the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not less

than twenty (20) years. Felony offenses relied upon shall not have

arisen out of the same transaction or occurrence or series of events

closely related in time and location.

D. Any person who, without authority, brings into or has in his

or her possession in any jail or state penal institution or other

place where prisoners are located, cigarettes, cigars, snuff,

chewing tobacco or any other form of tobacco product shall, upon

conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in

the county jail not to exceed one (1) year, or by a fine not

exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and

imprisonment.

E. Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authority

brings into or has in his or her possession in any secure area of a

jail or state penal institution or other secure place where

prisoners are located any cellular phone or electronic device

capable of sending or receiving any electronic communication shall,

upon conviction, be guilty of a Class D1 felony offense punishable

by imprisonment as provided for in subsections B through F of

Section 20N of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or by a fine not

exceeding Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00), or by both

such fine and imprisonment.

F. Any contraband item prohibited by the provisions of this

section that is seized as a result of a violation of this section

may be forfeited by the agency that seized the contraband item

following the procedures outlined in Section 2-506 of Title 63 of

the Oklahoma Statutes.

G. "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs,

signals, writings, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any

nature transmitted in whole or part by a wire, radio,

electromagnetic, photo-electronic or photo-optical system, and

includes, but is not limited to, the transfer of that communication

through the Internet.

Added by Laws 1955, p. 298, § 1. Amended by Laws 1978, c. 180, § 1,

eff. Oct. 1, 1978; Laws 1988, c. 109, § 29, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Laws

1992, c. 264, § 1, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 48, § 1, emerg.

eff. April 9, 1993; Laws 1995, c. 274, § 48, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws

1997, c. 133, § 503, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, 1st Ex. Sess., c.

5, § 368, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2001, c. 325, § 1, eff. Nov. 1,

2001; Laws 2008, c. 366, 5, emerg. eff. June 3, 2008; Laws 2009, c.

459, § 1, emerg. eff. June 2, 2009; Laws 2012, c. 93, § 1, eff. Nov.

1, 2012; Laws 2015, c. 226, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2015; Laws 2021, c.

21, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2025, c. 486, § 95, eff. Jan. 1,

2026.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories

NOTE: Laws 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 2, § 23 amended the effective

date of Laws 1997, c. 133, § 503 from July 1, 1998, to July 1, 1999.