ContentsIntroduction
Introduction PS 1 Improve Services and Increas Funding for Victims of Crime PS 2 Strengthen Traffic safety in Texas PS 3 Expand the Use of Telemedicine to Reduce Inmate Health Care Costs PS 4 Help Texas Cities Fight Gang Activity PS 5 Evaluate State-Funded Drug Prevention Programs PS 6 Increase Penalties for Domestic Violence and Strengthen Protective Orders PS 7 Increase Penalties for Sex Crimes Against Children PS 8 Implement a Civil Committment Procedure for Sexually Violent Predators
Violent crime has fallen in both the U.S. and Texas, but crime in all its forms continues to take its toll. Every year more than a quarter-million Texans become the victims of criminal acts. The state's fight against crime is enormously expensive; the Texas Legislature appropriates more than $2.1 billion each year to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to operate the state's jails and prisons and monitor parolees. In all, public safety and criminal justice account for $7 billion in state spending each biennium.
This chapter focuses on four major themes in public safety: assisting victims of crime; reducing the number of new victims by deterring criminal behavior; cracking down on repeat offenders; and using tax dollars in this area as wisely as possible.
One proposal would distribute state funds for crime victims' services to local entities, thus helping pay for an unfunded state mandate on local government. At present, the state requires local law enforcement agencies to provide these services but provides no state funds for this purpose.
More alcohol-related deaths occur on Texas highways than in any other state. Another proposal in this chapter proposes to increase safety on Texas highways by deploying sobriety checkpoints, lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit to .08, and implementing a one-year license suspension for repeat DWI offenders.
Other proposals would penalize the repeat offenders who are responsible for the bulk of all crime. One would help communities fight gang activity by strengthening laws against gang recruitment and clearing legal impediments to the identification and tracking of gang members. Others would increase penalties for sex crimes against children and for domestic violence, and implement a civil commitment procedure for sexually violent predators who are released from prison yet still present a risk to the public.
Finally, other recommendations suggest ways to make more efficient use of existing resources. For instance, this chapter recommends that TDCJ expand the use of telemedicine--the delivery of doctor's consultations via sophisticated two-way video systems--within the prison system as a means of reducing inmate transportation costs.