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New TCJC Report Provides Solutions to Address Jail Overcrowding in Texas
TCJC proudly announces the release of Costly Confinement & Sensible Solutions: Jail Overcrowding in Texas.
This report offers more than 60 front-end and corrections-level solutions to help system stakeholders identify smart-on-crime strategies that will reduce jail populations among Texas’ 235 jails. Specifically, the report serves as a go-to guide for county officials, policy-makers, law enforcement executives, attorneys and judges, pre-trial services staff, probation and parole heads, treatment providers, corrections personnel, re-entry specialists, and other agencies and organizations interested in creating more efficient and cost-effective corrections and diversion models throughout Texas.
With approximately 70,000 individuals incarcerated in Texas county jails – almost 11,000 of which are misdemeanants – Texas has six of the 50 largest national jail populations. At an average per-inmate cost of $45 per day, counties are spending drastic portions of their budgets on the confinement of oftentimes low-risk, nonviolent individuals. Alarmingly, more than half of all inmates have not yet been convicted of a crime. In the absence of jail population management strategies, further jail construction will become a reality, and it will necessitate significant, additional resources at both the county and state levels.
Especially in light of an ongoing statewide budget shortfall, it is crucial that state and local leadership implement public safety-driven, cost-effective policies that tackle the root causes of crime and deliver taxpayers a return on their investment.
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LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Reader,
As the Executive Director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, I am pleased to present this report on smart-on-crime strategies that will assist Texas counties in meeting the costly challenges associated with surging county jail populations. With the information provided herein, we hope to encourage counties to implement front-end and corrections-level policies and practices that will relieve taxpayers of the financial burden associated with growing jail populations, while boosting public safety through effective programming and the targeting of high-risk individuals.
The widespread implementation of such strategies cannot be accomplished without a continuing commitment from the Legislature to support the efforts that keep jail populations low and community safety interests in mind. First and foremost, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) must be assured a level of funding adequate to provide critical assistance to Texas counties. TCJS protects counties from damaging lawsuits by setting constitutional jail standards for counties to follow, conducting facility inspections, and enforcing compliance with rules and procedures.
The state must also do its part to assist counties in their jail population management strategies – ensuring the fidelity and success of safe, responsible crime-reduction practices already in place, while helping counties implement needed new best practices. Policy-makers must work in conjunction with county leadership, law enforcement executives, attorneys and judges, pre-trial services, probation and parole heads, treatment providers, corrections personnel, re-entry specialists, and other agencies and organizations to create an infrastructure that promotes success for counties and the families who live there.
Please join us as we work to stop the cycle of off ending by collaborating for more socially effective and fiscally responsible means of dealing with overcrowding among our state’s jail populations. Especially in light of an ongoing statewide budget shortfall, it is crucial that the Legislature continues its commitment to public safety-driven, cost-effective policies that have been tackling the root causes of crime and delivering taxpayers a return on their investment. Texas simply cannot afford to have jail construction be its only option for addressing criminal behavior.
Sincerely,
Ana Yáñez-Correa
Executive Director, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition