TCJE Blog

New Guide: Lessons for Creating a Data Dashboard in Your County

Over the last two years, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition has worked to make the state’s criminal justice system more transparent by obtaining and visualizing criminal court data. Beginning with Harris County, this project has helped hold people in power accountable for their promises of reform.

With funding from Microsoft Cities Team and a partnership with data science firm January Advisors, this work expanded geographically to Dallas County, as well as expanding in...

I Walked the Line

I recently shared my story as part of a restorative justice program at the Kyle State Prison Unit for men. It was the first time I had stepped foot in an adult unit in over a decade. After I shared my experience, the men, facilitators and I broke into groups to discuss my story in depth. I could see the hunger for change in these men’s eyes as they questioned me about my prison experiences...

2019 Bills That Are Still Moving or Have Become Law

 
Last updated: August 29, 2019

It’s Sine Die – the last day of legislative session – and TCJC is thrilled that so many positive bills have progressed to the Governor’s desk.  A few have already become law!

The Governor now has a 20-day period to review the bills and either sign them into law, let them pass into law without his signature, or veto them.

Below we have provided a list of nearly 90...

Taking Off the Mask: GRAD Program Helps Heal Men Who Have Hurt Others

As I visited several classrooms of students participating in the Gang Renouncement and Disassociation (GRAD) process at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, Texas, I couldn’t help but remember my time in the same program at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas, in 2010. I shared those experiences with the men in Ellis and told them how much of an impact my cognitive intervention teacher, Ms. Kathy Gant, had had on my life. I told them...

Mother’s Day Update on TCJC’s “Justice for Women” Campaign

What Good Bail Reform Looks Like in Texas (And How We’ll Get There)

On any given day, more than 60% of the people held in county jails across Texas have not been convicted of the crime with which they’re charged. These 40,000 people are incarcerated, draining important county resources and watching their jobs, families, and quality of life crumble, simply for being unable to pay their bail amount.

“Innocent until proven guilty” is a foundational principle of American life – but for many Texans, if you’re too poor...

Reflections on My Visit to the Youthful Offender Program

I recently visited a group of boys in the Youthful Offender Program (YOP). They’re all under 18 years old but they’ve been incarcerated in Texas’ adult prison system at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Ellis Unit in Huntsville. We enjoyed Domino’s pizza (the chicken and mushroom is the big hit) and asked each other ice-breaker questions. It was a positive experience talking with the kids. Still, it was difficult to deal with – these...

New Dallas County Data Provides Critical Transparency and Accountability Mechanism

TCJC is excited to announce that our Dallas County Criminal Court Dashboard is now up and running at TCJCdashboard.org/dallas!

We’re giving you access to over 100,000 criminal court cases, right at your fingertips.

Acquiring the criminal court data for Dallas County was a much different process than obtaining the same data for our Harris County Dashboard. But through persistence and the ingenuity of our partners at January Advisors, we were able to obtain...

Survivors Speak Comes to Texas

Three years ago, I traveled from Austin to Sacramento, California, to attend Survivors Speak—an annual event hosted by the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ), which brings together the largest gathering of crime survivors in the United States. The event allows crime survivors to share stories, honor loved ones, and advocate for change. 

During that first trip to the California State Capitol, I discovered a new victims’ movement—one where a diverse group of survivors was...

5 Lessons Learned from Launching TCJC’s Data Dashboard

Two years ago, when we began analyzing data about criminal court case outcomes in Harris County, we had a sense that the data would be useful for all types of criminal justice advocates. But most criminal justice advocates aren't statistical programmers. 

That's why we built the Data Dashboard. It's an interactive tool that helps advocates track cases and trends through Harris County’s criminal court system. Anyone can log on and explore the numbers by...