What will the future hold for Texas? How can we fix the system?
What does the future hold if we continue on this path?
Texas’ state prison population is continuing to grow – in fact, as long as Texas’ “tough on crime” policies stay the same, we’re expected to exceed prison capacity by nearly 10,000 beds in just over 3 years.
To accommodate for this, officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have asked that millions of dollars be allotted to build new prisons and incorporate a small portion for some treatment.
With the exception of additional funding for treatment, this request is unsustainable. We don’t have enough prison guards to meet this demand, nor do we have the resources. And we’re not getting the return we deserve for our investment.
There is a Better Solution!
Now more than ever, Texas deserves long-term policy solutions that will increase public safety and stem the tide of destruction and waste (both in terms of dollars and lives) caused by our current criminal justice policies.
In the legislature’s bi-partisan attempt to provide real solutions to our criminal justice problems, Republican Representative Jerry Madden from Richardson and Democratic Senator John Whitmire from Houston have spoken about the need for policies that will save families, save taxpayers' money, and improve the safety of our communities.
“We’re all tough on crime ... but we’ve got to be smart – and the smart things to do are not necessarily those such as ‘Lock them up and throw away the key,’ but those things that provide the programs and provide the insight to do things differently than what we’ve been doing.” – Representative Jerry Madden
“It makes more sense to keep these nonviolent offenders in community treatment centers – where they could get help – than to imprison them.” - Senator John Whitmire