Four Texas civil rights and youth-justice reform groups called Thursday for the state to close all of its remaining juvenile-justice lockups and replacing them with community-based treatment and rehabilitation centers.
Juvenile justice reform advocates want all the state's youth lockups closed after the department's latest sexual misconduct scandal.
A group of juvenile justice reform advocates sent a letter today to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus calling for moving youth in state juvenile facilities to local juvenile probation, community programs, and small rehabilitative facilities closer to youth’s families, and urged legislators to develop a plan to close down all state secure juvenile facilities.
Texas lawmakers have a difficult decision to make. Should the state shutter its five remaining youth lockups and admit we're just not capable of finding the money, the staff or even the fundamental competence to keep juvenile offenders safe in large facilities?
What is the best way to deal with juvenile crime? A summit meeting at the state capitol is trying to come up with that answer.
Desmond Hawkins, who turned 18 on Nov. 8, is accused of shooting and killing Reginald Sherman on Oct. 11, 2016, in what police have said was a robbery attempt.
Juvenile justice advocates say operational and behavioral problems at Texas lockups for youth have persisted under the state's control for more than a decade.
Another one of the 'get tough on crime' measures dating from the blood soaked 1990s is being questioned in Texas, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Youths at the Gainesville State School say staff paid them with drugs and cash to assault one another.
Do 17-year-old offenders belong in adult prison? Would there be benefits to raising the age of responsibility to 18 instead?
Read the rest of this blog post at the Goolsby Law Firm's blog.
The Lone Star state notched up some bad marks in a newly released analysis of pretrial justice across the country.
The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition wants lawmakers to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18 in the 2019 legislative session.
Interim Police Monitor Deven Desai opened negotiations between the city and police last week with a nod to a crowd of activists gathered in one corner of the room. “I’ve sat in these negotiations since '08 and I can’t remember a time we had even one person from the community come in and actually observe the negotiations," he said.
Read the rest of this article at KUT.
A group of juvenile justice reform advocates hosted a press conference at the Texas Capitol today as part of Youth Justice Action Month calling for a new commitment to juvenile justice reform in Texas.
Members of the Austin Justice Coalition and Grassroots Leadership took a knee as Austin City Council members listened to the invocation before the meeting.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on Tuesday promised more pre-trial diversion programs for suspects in drug possession cases and those with mental health issues.
NJJN’s Texas members, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC), Texas Appleseed and Texans Care for Children were successful in their collaborative efforts to pass legislation focused on dual-status youth, confidentiality of juvenile records, 10 and 11 year olds in the juvenile justice system and the suspension and expulsion of kids in early grades.
Read the rest of this post at the National Juvenile Justice Network.
APD’s refusal to act on recommendations given by a citizen review panel suggests that the city's 16-year experiment in police oversight has failed.
Austin’s Citizen Review Panel (CRP) has special access to certain internal investigations of police officer-involved shootings and other incidents. The Panel reviews the incident and may issue a letter of recommendation calling for policy or procedural changes at the Austin Police Department (APD), even if the officer is found to have violated no rules.
Texas counties are watching to see how Harris County's fight against court-ordered bail practices will affect them.
Read the rest of this article at The Texas Tribune.