Texas

In 2007, Texas was projected to need 17,000 additional prison beds by 2012, at an expected cost of $2 billion. Between 1997 and 2006, the number of people revoked to prison from probation increased 18 percent. More than 2,000 people were awaiting placement for substance use and mental health treatment in 2006 and parole grant rates were much lower than the parole board’s own guidelines. In 2006 and 2007, the CSG Justice Center worked with Texas state leaders to analyze criminal justice system data, interview stakeholders, and develop data-driven policy options designed to reduce corrections spending and increase public safety.

Justice reinvestment policies were adopted in the 2008–2009 biennial budget. The framework included several policies designed to address theses challenges, such as:

• Increasing treatment capacity in the prison system by 5,200 program slots for substance abuse treatment (outpatient, in-prison, and post-release) and mental health treatment; and
• Expanding diversion options in the probation and parole system by 4,500 beds for technical violations of supervision, transitional treatment, and substance abuse treatment.

These policies mitigated the state’s growth in prison population by about 9,000 and saved the state $443 million between 2008 and 2009. The state reinvested $241 million to expand in-prison and community-based treatment and diversion programs.

• Justice Reinvestment State Brief: Texas (October 15, 2007)

• Recent and Projected Growth of the Texas Prison Population (January 15, 2007)
• Texas Mid-Legislative Session Progress Report on Adoption of Justice Reinvestment Plan (May 15, 2007)
• Comparison of Texas Budget Proposals to Manage the Growth of the Prison Population and Increase Public Safety (May 15, 2007)
• Justice Reinvestment: The Challenges Ahead (August 13, 2007)

• Justice Reinvestment in Texas: Assessing the Impact of the 2007 Justice Reinvestment Initiative (April 10, 2009)
• Texas Justice Reinvestment and Probation: Accomplishments and Challenges (March 7, 2010)
• Texas Justice Reinvestment: Outcomes, Challenges and Policy Options to Consider (March 7, 2011)
• Playing the Long Game: Improving Criminal Justice in Texas (April 13, 2016)