Want to find out what should be done to improve Texas' criminal justice system? Check out some reports on best practices. Community Supervision (Probation)
One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, Pew Center on the States - With the costs of imprisonment rising and the benefits falling, our ability to keep communities safe depends more than ever upon our ability to better manage the 5 million offenders on probation and parole. Rather than trying to weather the economic storm with short-term cost saving measures, policy leaders should see this as a chance to retool their sentencing and corrections systems. (2009, 48 pages)
2007 Texas’ Criminal Justice Solutions, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition - The first section of the primer addresses the issue of prison overcrowding. (2007, 43 pages)
Laying the Foundation for Better Probation, Texas Public Policy Foundation - Recent increases in probationers being revoked have spurred legislative interest in probation reform, as these revocations cost the state more than a half billion dollars in recurring incarceration costs and contribute to the projected need for new prisons. In 2001, 37 percent of prison intakes and 41 percent of state jail intakes that were revoked probationers accounted for $547 million in direct incarceration. (June 2006, 12 pages)
Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation
A 25-Year Quagmire: The "War On Drugs" and Its Impact on American Society, The Sentencing Project - Analysis, based on an analysis of 25 years of government data regarding drugs and the criminal justice system, finds that the "war on drugs" has increasingly targeted low-level offenders for arrest and incarceration, and is largely failing to provide adequate treatment in prison. (September 2007, 33 pages)
Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Because drug abuse is implicated in at least three types of drug-related offenses, individuals who use drugs are more likely to commit crimes. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that about 70% of State and 57% of Federal prisoners used drugs regularly prior to incarceration. Learn more about the treatment principles and research findings that are of particular relevance to the criminal justice community. (July 2006, 18 pages)
Evidence-based Treatment of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Disorders: Potential Benefits, Costs, and Fiscal Impacts for Washington State, Washington State Institute for Public Policy - This study examines “what works” for people with alcohol, drug, and mental health disorders. (June 2006, 36 pages)
Economic Benefits of Drug Treatment: A Critical Review of the Evidence for Policy Makers, Steven Belenko - Substance abuse treatment results in significant reductions in alcohol and drug use, crime and improvement in health and social functions. Alcohol and drug treatment also produce a positive economic impact, due to reduced crime and post-treatment health costs. Despite this evidence, treatment providers and funders continue to face challenges in receiving appropriate funding and maximizing the effectiveness of their services. (February 2005, 84 pages)
The Rehabilitation Dilemma in Texas County Jails, Mark Kellar - Inmate rehabilitation and treatment programs are relatively scarce in county jails. A general questionnaire distributed to Texas county sheriffs or their jail administrators indicated that larger jails were more likely to have both inmate education and substance abuse treatment programs than smaller jails. Few institutions reported comprehensive or sophisticated programming and many reported none at all. These findings were consistent with conclusions drawn by other researchers. (2005, 16 pages) Poor Prescription: The Cost of Imprisoning Drug Offenders in the United States, Justice Policy Institute - The cost of this massive growth in incarceration is staggering. Americans will spend nearly $40 billion on prisons and jails in the year 2000. Almost $24 billion of that will go to incarcerate 1.2 million nonviolent offenders. Meanwhile, in two of our nation’s largest states, California and New York, the prison budgets outstripped the budgets for higher education during the mid-1990s. (July 2000, 36 pages)
Education Reduces Crime, Correctional Education Association & Management and Training Corporation - This study compared correctional education participants and non-participants in Maryland, Minnesota, and Ohio to assess the impact of correctional education on recidivism and post-release employment of inmates. (February 2003, 28 pages)
Saving Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and Earnings, Alliance for Excellent Education - This paper found that reforming the nation's high schools could potentially increase the number of graduates and, as a result, significantly reduce the nation's crime-related costs and add billions of dollars to the economy through the additional wages they would earn. Increasing the graduation rate and college matriculation of male students by only 5 percent could lead to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year. (August 2006, 6 pages)
The Link between Early Childhood Education and Crime and Violence Reduction, Jen Brown, Policy Associate, Early Learning and Care - This finds that "High quality early learning and care is one of the most powerful weapons against crime, while poor early childhood education multiplies the risk that children will grow up to be a threat to every American family." (July 2002, 2 pages)
The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports, Lochner & Moretti - This paper estimates the effect of education on participation in criminal activity accounting for endogeneity of schooling. Crime is a negative externality with enormous social costs, so if education reduces crime, then schooling may have large social benefits that are not taken into account by individuals. (December 2001, 49 pages)
Education as Crime Prevention: The Case for Reinstating Pell Grant Eligibility for the Incarcerated, Karpowitz & Kenner - This report illustrates the overwhelming consensus among public officials that postsecondary education is the most successful and cost-effective method of preventing crime. (2003, 8 pages)
California’s Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy, Brazelton & Greenwood, from FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS CALIFORNIA - This report finds that “The quality of child care and early education available in California has a tremendous impact on every child, on whether he or she behaves or 'acts out,' excels in school or drops out, and transitions into adulthood as a productive citizen or as a dangerous criminal.” (2001, 44 pages)
Caught in the Net: The Impact of Drug Policies on Women and Families - In this report, the ACLU, Break the Chains and the Brennan Center for Justice advocate for fair drug laws and policies that adequately take into account the needs of women and their families, and address the root causes of women's involvement with illegal drugs. (2005, 80 pages)
Women in the Criminal Justice System, The Sentencing Project - The series documents the gender implications of changes that have occurred over the last 20 years within the criminal justice system, including expansive law enforcement, stiffer drug sentencing laws and re-entry barriers. The briefing sheets delve into family, socioeconomic and physical and mental health issues that women – and their families – face as a result of being incarcerated. (May 2007, 10 pages)
Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity, The Sentencing Project - This report examines racial and ethnic disparities by state and finds substantial variation in the degree of black-to-white incarceration. The report finds that African Americans are incarcerated at nearly 6 times the rate of whites and Latinos at nearly double the rate. Recommended reforms include addressing disparities through changes in drug policy, mandatory sentencing laws, reconsideration of “race neutral” policies, and changes in resource allocation. (July 2007, 23 pages)
Historical Criminal Justice Statistics: Adult Offender Characteristics - The following data highlights general characteristics of offenders in prison facilities as of August, 2004, those admitted to prison during the 2004 fiscal year, and those released during the 2004 fiscal year. The data do not include characteristics of state jail offenders, SAFP participants, or parole violators in ISF facilities. The data were taken from TDCJ’s Statistical Report and extracted from individual-level records submitted to the LBB by TDCJ-Executive Services. (June 2006, 15 pages) Race and Imprisonment in Texas, Justice Policy Institute - This brief examines the impact of racial and ethnic disparities in the Texas criminal justice system, especially the overrepresentation of African Americans and Latinos among the state’s drug prisoner population. The fact that the expanding use of incarceration in Texas disproportionately affects the state’s non-White citizens remains undeniable. Additionally, prison related spending by the state has had a damaging impact on state spending and on the economic vitality of Texas’ communities of color. (February 2005, 11 pages)
One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008, Pew Center on the States - For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety. In addition to detailing state and regional prison growth rates, Pew’s report, One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008, identifies how corrections spending compares to other state investments, why it has increased, and what some states are doing to limit growth in both prison populations and costs while maintaining public safety (February 2008, 37 pages).
Incarceration of Drug Offenders: Costs and Impacts, Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme - Based on the idea that strong enforcement and widespread incarceration will deter potential users and dealers from becoming involved in the illegal drug market, the US makes strong statements about the need to maintain police activity and penal sanctions for drug users. This report outlines the significant financial, social and health costs associated with high rates of incarceration, which perhaps explains why most countries have not gone down this road. (June 2005, 8 pages)
Incarceration and Crime, The Sentencing Project - This report details why increasing incarceration - and ignoring more effective approaches - has imposed a heavy burden upon courts, corrections and communities, while providing marginal impact on crime. It offers an analysis of the relationship between incarceration and crime and reviews more effective alternatives to reduce crime rates. (2005, 11 pages)
Recidivism: The Effect of Incarceration and Length of Time Served, Song & Lieb - The effect of prison or jail sentences on recidivism is an important issue to those concerned with public safety and the cost-effectiveness of putting convicted offenders in prison. Opinions are divided between those advocating longer sentences in the interest of public safety, and those advocating shorter sentences with the assumption that incarceration, or longer prison terms, will not reduce recidivism rates. (September 1993, 17 pages)
Identification of Funding Issues in FY 2008-2009, Probation Advisory Committee (TDCJ) - View this informative PowerPoint presentation to find out which probation department lost money and which one gained money. (July 2007, 20 slides) 
Impact of Education on Crime Prevention
Contacts Between Police and the Public, U.S. Department of Justice - In 2002, an estimated 45.3 million US residents age 16 or older had at least one face-to-face contact with a police officer. This study breaks down police contact with residents based on racial/ethnic background and reason for contact. Learn about the main reasons for contact, the percentage initiated by police, by the public, and the use of force in these interactions. (April 2005, 35 pages)
Impact of Incarceration on Gender and Race/Ethnicity
The Vortex: The Concentrated Racial Impact of Drug Imprisonment and the Characteristics of Punitive Counties, Justice Policy Institute – This report provides information on who uses drugs, who is most affected by drug admissions, the spending practices of counties that admit drug offenders, and the status of incarceration rates for drug offenses. JPI also calls for evidence-based drug enforcement practice. (December 2007, 36 pages)
A Framework to Improve Effectiveness of Justice Policies in Texas, Justice Center - Check out this presentation regarding prison beds. (2007, 43 slides)
Reconsidering Incarceration, Don Stemen - This report finds that “After falling for more than a decade, in many parts of the United States crime rates appear to be inching up again. Although it is still too early to call this a trend, it is not hard to imagine this shift in direction leading to calls for tougher sentences and more incarceration — even though our prisons are already full and corrections in many states already absorbs so much of the available resources.” (January 2007, 24 pages)
Legislative Summaries
Legislation Affecting CJAD & CSCD (80th Legislative Session, Office of the General Counsel, Legal Affairs Section (TDCJ) - Find out how the 80th Legislative Session impacted local Community Supervision Departments and Corrections Departments in this compilation of materials and commentary, prepared with the assistance of TDCJ's Community Justice Assistance Division. (August 2007, 44)
