Texas
Articles
05/29/2010 – Austin-American Statesmen: “More programs, fewer beds could help prisons’ bottom line“
“During an initial round of budget cuts for many state agencies this month, the Texas prison system took a lesser hit. On Friday, though, state leaders directed agencies — including the prison system — to propose an additional 10 percent in cuts that may be necessary to balance the budget when the Legislature reconvenes next year.”
05/11/2010 – U.S. House Judiciary Committee Hearing on H.R. 4080: “Statement by Representative Jerry Madden“
“The successes in Texas and other states helped guide the development of the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act of 2010, which will help state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments better control corrections spending and population growth. The legislation would provide resources to help states and counties identify new, effective corrections approaches; implement the recommended policies, programs, and practices; and reinvest costs saved back into the system to protect public safety.”
04/13/2010 – Miller-McCune: “New Conditions of Probation”, by Bernice Yeung
“At a time when local and state budgets are tight, the county’s reforms to probation, officially called Travis Community Impact Supervision, are being held up as a model. It is producing a curriculum with the Council of State Governments Justice Center so counties across the country can start their own probation reform experiments.”
12/15/2009 – The Houston Chronicle: “Texas Cuts Costs Amid Prison Reforms”, by Cindy Horswell
“Now, Texas has a new swagger that comes from a recently released U.S. Justice Department report showing the growth of the state’s prison population is slowing to the extent that three new prisons slated for construction have been scrapped. At the same time, the state is becoming the unlikely new role model for a prison reform movement spreading across the country.”
May/June 2009 – County Magazine: “The Probation Experiment”, by Maria Sprow
“For years, adult probation departments have struggled to determine the best ways to reduce offender recidivism and revocations. Over the years, probation professionals have explored an array of new ideas — treatment alternatives, electronic bracelets, boot camps — but few programs are proven to reliably achieve the goal of effectively changing human behavior, from ‘bad’ to ‘good.’”
02/20/2009 – Austin-American Statesmen: “Drug Program Gets Credit for Halting Prisoner Increase”, by Mike Ward
“Texas’ prison population has stopped growing for the time being, thanks in part to changes in corrections policy two years ago that boosted financing for rehabilitation programs, new statistics revealed Thursday.”
01/11/2008 – Austin-American Statesmen: “Speeding Release of Parolees Could Ease Prison Guard Shortage, Lawmakers Say,” by Mike Ward
“As Texas’ prison system struggles with an acute shortage of guards, two legislative leaders called Thursday for a review of whether thousands of convicts who have been approved for parole but still are awaiting release could be let go to ease the crisis.”
11/23/2007 – The New York Times: “Trying To Break Cycle of Prison at Street Level,” by Solomon Moore
“Last year, 32,585 prisoners were released on state parole in Texas, and many of them returned to neighborhoods where they live among thousands of other parolees and probationers.”
7/2/2007 – The New York Times: “A Much-Needed Second Chance“
“Congress needs to pass the Second Chance Act, which would provide grants, guidance and assistance to states and localities that are developing programs to reintegrate former inmates into their communities.”
6/18/2007 – Stateline.org: “States Seek Alternatives to More Prisons”, by John Gramlich
“In Texas, which houses 153,000 prisoners, the Legislature recently approved a plan that lawmakers have characterized as one of the most significant changes in corrections in a decade. The package, part of the state budget awaiting Republican Gov. Rick Perry’s approval, would divert thousands of inmates from prison to rehabilitation facilities, where beds would free up twice a year as offenders get help and re-enter society.”
5/22/2007 – Austin American Statesmen: “Parole, Rehab Proposal Gets House Support”, by Mike Ward
A linchpin of the most significant changes in Texas’ criminal justice system in more than a decade was approved Monday by the Texas House, including a new legislative panel to monitor whether rehabilitation reforms are working.
3/31/2007 – Houston Chronicle: “Texas Crowding ‘Crisis’ is Self-Made”, by Richard Watkins
“AFTER decades of hard experience, experts have finally figured out that simply putting lots of petty criminals in prison for long terms is exorbitantly costly and mostly ineffective in reducing crime.”
3/31/2007 – Houston Chronicle: “Audit: Prison rehab process failing / Report calls routing methods ineffective, likely contributor to overcrowding issue”, by Polly Ross Hughes
“Texas prison and parole officers are using inefficient methods for routing felons into rehabilitation programs, and their lack of coordination could be contributing to prison overcrowding, a report released Friday shows.”
2/27/2007 – The Beaumont Enterprise: “Debate Over Prison Funding Heats Up,” by Ryan Myers
“Despite an overflowing Texas prison population and talk in the Texas Legislature this session of more prisons, prospects for a new facility in Southeast Texas are poor, lawmakers said this past week.”
2/19/2007 – El Paso Times: “Alternatives Sought to Relieve Prison Overcrowding,” by Mark Muecke
“With prisons statewide nearly brim-full, lawmakers are growing weary of shelling out more money to just contain them.”
2/06/2007 – The Dallas Morning News: “Dallas Has 3 Months to Fix Jail”, by Kevin Krause
“Dallas County officials soon may have to shut the doors to their crowded and understaffed jail and pay millions of dollars to send inmates to other counties if they can’t get the inmate population under control.”
2/06/2007 – Austin American Statesmen: “Probation Department Returns $25 Million to State Coffers”, by Mike Ward
“At a time when legislative leaders are pushing for tens of millions in additional funding for local probation programs comes this: Nearly $25 million in state probation money went unspent last year.”
2/05/2007 – Houston Chronicle: “Prison Break: State Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Jerry Madden propose a plan to end the prison building binge“
The evidence has built for years. Judges see the same low-level suspects over and over; nonviolent offenders languish behind bars while predators are freed; Texas spends $2.5 billion annually on the nation’s second-largest prison system – one already out of beds.
1/31/2007 – Austin-American Statesmen: “Report identifies prison problems before a historic joint hearing” by Mike Ward
The state’s criminal justice system came under intense criticism Tuesday as legislative leaders made clear that business as usual – building prisons every few years – will no longer be a solution to an increasing shortage of cells and operating problems.
1/30/2007 – Houston Chronicle: “New prison policies could save millions,” by Polly Ross Huges
More drug and alcohol treatment and fewer new prison cells could save Texas $442 million over the next five years, a new study shows.
1/29/2007 – Austin-American Statesmen: “Study Says Policy Changes Could Alleviate Need for More Prisons”, by Mike Ward
Providing additional prison treatment programs and paroling offenders according to longstanding release guidelines would allow Texas to avoid building prisons, a new study reveals. The analysis by the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments, to be made public Tuesday at a joint meeting of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and the House Corrections Committee, said that Texas would have just 151,817 convicts in prison by 2012 – fewer than are currently serving time in the state’s near-capacity prisons – if it opts for two changes in policy.
1/24/2207 – The Houston Chronicle: “Lt. Gov. Dewhurst Calling for More Prisons”, by Polly Ross Hughes
“Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Wednesday that Texas needs 5,000 new prison beds, a view at odds with a major report that key lawmakers will release next week that will stress treatment programs and prison alternatives.”
“We respect the lieutenant governor, but we respectfully disagree with him on this one if he’s talking about building maximum security facilities,” said Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, chairman of the House Corrections Committee.
1/23/2007 – Austin-American Statesmen: “Criminal justice leaders push home nurses, anger management to help trim crime” by Mike Ward
Legislators who are spearheading the proposals admit they are a change of direction for Texas criminal justice, but they say such programs are more likely to cut recidivism and crime rates than building more prisons.
1/11/2007 – The Dallas Morning News: “Prison Revamp Long on Rehabilitation, Short on New Cells”
“Texas lawmakers on an influential state commission formally recommended an overhaul of the prison rehabilitation, probation and parole systems Wednesday, hoping to reduce crowding without building new units.”
1/11/2007 – Austin-American Statesmen: “Prison Chief Supports More Rehabilitation Programs”, by Mike Ward
Texas criminal justice czar Brad Livingston says he wholeheartedly supports a legislative move to drastically expand rehabilitation and treatment programs for convicts.
And he supports the idea to re-establish a new entity to track criminal justice trends, as well.
1/04/2007 – Dallas Morning News: “‘Smart’ approach to prisons sought” by Emily Ramshaw
Texas prisons are packed, and state corrections officials are urging the Legislature to build three units. But traditionally tough-on-crime lawmakers appear ready to take a different approach – rehabilitation.