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Voters in Oklahoma did not approve of State Question 805, which would've prohibited a person's former non-violent felony convictions from being used to enhance the person's sentence if it was approved.

In other words, the measure wouldn't allow a convicted person's sentence to be made longer of harsher due to past felony convictions. And if it were to have passed on Tuesday, the measure would've become a constitutional amendment in Oklahoma.

61.1-percent of voters (922,156 votes) said "No" to State Question 805, while 38.9-percent of voters (587,502 votes) said "Yes" to the measure.

Police Sergeant Daniel Elkins said the Bartlesville Police Department was not for State Question 805. If SQ 805 was approved, Sgt. Elkins said there would've been a large increase in non-violent crimes such as vehicle burglaries and larcenies as well as other crimes. He said SQ805 would only limit the District Attorney’s Office and their options for prosecution.

Sgt. Elkins said he understands the idea of people being judged solely by the crime that they're arrested for in any given incident. He said he thinks it might be a stance to combat systemic racism, but it doesn't make sense with how SQ805 was currently written and what some people might've be going for with the measure.

Despite what many people think, Sgt. Elkins said it takes a miracle sometimes to get many crimes wrapped up to the point of prosecution and sentencing. Sgt. Elkins said the system is very much for the defendant. When they get to a point where prosecution is reasonable or appropriate to take place, Sgt. Elkins said the last thing they need is to have the hands of the District Attorney's Office tied more than they already are. He said they deal with the same people far too often.

Sgt. Elkins said the convictions in some of the cases today see the defendants getting turned over to the Mental Health Court or Drug Court where they are going to the Department of Corrections for a limited amount of time before being back out on the streets. He said they already see a revolving door where problems keep occurring.

Crime incubates crime is something Sgt. Elkins believes and holds onto. Sgt. Elkins said it's a problem when we can't let the District Attorney's Office handle repeat offenders in the way they see fit.

State Question 805 would've been nothing more than a smack on the wrist to Sgt. Elkins. In Sgt. Elkins' eyes, the risk versus reward aspect in crime will see a rise in reward and a reduction in risk if we limit our prosecutors. He said when we're more concerned with the rights of the defendants than the overall good of the citizens of Oklahoma, we could stumble upon problems in society, especially when looking at the implications of SQ805.

If passed, State Question 805 would've been embedded in the Oklahoma State Constitution. Sgt. Elkins said this would've made the problems in SQ805 difficult to resolve. He said criminal justice reform is fine, but the current version of SQ805 and what it generally talked about had way too many bugs in it to pass as it stood.