San Antonio, Dallas Primaries Could Usher in Prosecutors Who Promise a More Equal Criminal Justice System
Reformers have targeted Texas primary races where candidates promise bail reform and jail diversion.
TCJC In the News
Press Contact: For all media inquiries, please contact Madison Kaigh, Communications Manager, at mkaigh@TexasCJC.org or (512) 441-8123, ext. 108.
Texas prisons consider transfer of youth to former death row unit on heels of rape investigation
The Texas prison system is considering moving youthful offenders from a Brazoria prison to the former death row unit in Huntsville on the heels of a rape investigation, according to one lawmaker and multiple sources within the agency.
Commissioners, criminal justice advocates quarrel about funding of Travis Co. women's jail
A majority of facilities at the Travis County Correction Complex need major infrastructure upgrades. Nineteen of 27 buildings fail functional, mechanical, and architectural ratings, according to the Planning and Budget Office. A two-year analysis resulted in the 2016 master plan with recommendations on renovation and expansion.
Travis County commissioners delay vote on women’s jail expansion
When Travis County commissioners approved the 2018 budget in September that included about $6.6 million to design a new women’s facility in the Del Valle jail, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt insisted, over the cries of criminal justice reform advocates, that it would not mean more beds overall but that more would be allocated to women.
Read the rest of this article at the Austin American-Statesman.
Residents, advocates, council members debate alternative homes for parolees at Houston public safety meeting
A recent report shows there are 99 of what the city of Houston considers as ‘alternative homes’ dotted around Harris County, all intended for the purpose of housing parolees.
In Houston, outrage over a school arrest that landed a student in immigration detention
The Houston school district is under fire after a student without legal status ended up in immigration detention following his arrest by a school police officer for an altercation with a female student.
Austin High School students protest arrest of immigrant student booked into jail for assault
More than 300 Stephen F. Austin High School students walked out during their lunch break Wednesday to protest the arrest of a Honduran teen who landed in immigrant detention after a fight at school.
After fatal fires, Houston officials propose stronger lodging house safety rules
After residential facility fires last year claimed the lives of three people and displaced dozens of others, Houston city officials on Tuesday unveiled several proposed changes to city ordinances aimed at improving oversight of the buildings.
Reformers Seek to Establish Nonprofit in Charge of Police Oversight
As the Austin Police Association (APA) continues negotiating a new union contract with the city of Austin, police reform advocates are asking that the city fund an independent nonprofit to review complaints against the police department.
Tear gas, pepper spray use up in Texas prisons, including on suicidal inmates
As violence behind bars continues to rise, Texas prisons over the past 10 years have seen a 71 percent increase in the use of chemical agents on inmates, often those attempting suicide or self-harm.
Community-Built, Community-Driven Oversight?
When the city's police union meet-and-confer agreement expired in December, with it expired language that both provided for the Citizen Review Panel and barred the city from experimenting with any parallel mechanism of community oversight.
The False Promise of Bail Reform in Dallas County: Debate Continues While People Languish in Jail
For five days, 47-year-old Shannon Daves sat in solitary confinement in a Dallas County jail because she couldn’t afford to pay $500 bail. Daves, who is unemployed and homeless, was isolated because she is transgender — allegedly to protect her from the jail’s general population. She faces a misdemeanor property theft charge.
The False Promise of Bail Reform in Dallas County: Debate Continues While People Languish in Jail
For five days, 47-year-old Shannon Daves sat in solitary confinement in a Dallas County jail because she couldn’t afford to pay $500 bail.
Texas may shutter some juvenile prisons in push to shift youth closer to home
If everything goes as planned, Texas could shutter some of its state-run juvenile prisons over the next five years, according to the newly installed director of the troubled Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
Police reform activists call for city-funded nonprofit for police complaints
Representatives of Austin’s police union said Monday that they’re eager to begin negotiations with the new city manager on a contract that can hopefully win approval from City Council.
Suicide attempts have more than doubled in Texas prisons
The attempted suicide rate recorded inside the Texas prison system has doubled in four years, a trend that some experts call "concerning" and others see as a positive sign the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is getting more serious about tracking mental health issues.
TJC hosts public hearing of Texas House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety
Tyler Junior College hosted a public hearing of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety February 1, in the board room on the TJC main campus.
Gov. Greg Abbott Taps Former Ranger To Head The State’s Juvenile Justice Department
There’s a shakeup going on at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department after a Dallas Morning News investigation revealed widespread allegations of different types of abuse.
“They’re just setting those babies up for the penitentiary”: How minor offenses feed overcrowding at Houston youth jail
Across Texas, kids are getting into less trouble with the law even though the state population is exploding. So why is Harris County's juvenile detention center bursting at the seams?
In Harris County, the ‘Slow Erosion’ of a System That Keeps People in Jail Because They’re Poor
The case to end cash bail puts Harris County judges and magistrates under a microscope.