Press Contact: For all media inquiries, please contact Madison Kaigh, Communications Manager, at mkaigh@TexasCJE.orgor (512) 441-8123, ext. 108.
As the Austin City Council gears up to decide Thursday whether to approve a contract that would equip the vast majority of police patrol officers with body cameras, several local organizations are calling on the Austin Police Department to clarify its policy regarding public access to the recordings.
His attorney told him he could be out of jail in ten days if he took the plea deal — but 58-year-old Gilbert Cruz refused, saying he wasn’t going to plead guilty to something he didn’t do.
In the year since her arrest and death in Waller County, Sandra Bland has powered the push for criminal justice reforms in Texas.
Texas Puts Money in Taxpayer Pockets, Needs to Spend Better
Texans will save an estimated $92 million when shopping for school supplies during this weekend’s “tax free” days. Everyone enjoys a good discount, and that money will help families buy their kids the learning tools they need. But Texas faces a big budget shortfall this year thanks to lower gas prices. State leaders will be looking for more efficient, less costly ways to fix roads, fund schools, and secure our communities while still giving money like this back to taxpayers.
Texas could reduce prison populations by 4.6 percent within three...
Told to prepare a budget that cuts spending by 4 percent, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is drawing up a legislative request for the 2018-2019 biennium that would slash its operating budget by about $250 million.
With a new police body camera program set to begin at the end of September, an updated side-by-side comparison of police body cam policies in American cities now includes the capital of Texas.
Police departments are notoriously reluctant to make data about officer behavior available for scrutiny by outsiders.
After deputies were indicted last week for ordering the search of a woman's vagina for marijuana in public, it's safe to say Sheriff Ron Hickman's response was rather jarring.
Our Constitution Matters, and Not Just on the 4th of July
BY KATHY MITCHELL AND KELLI KLEIN--It might come as a surprise, but our nation’s birth came about in part because we resisted asset forfeiture. British troops intent on punishing smugglers or tax evaders would take assets from the early colonists without the kind of protections granted by our Bill of Rights.
And yet, the Texas Supreme Court in June said government can take your stuff under Texas’ civil “asset forfeiture” law, even if government officials have no constitutional basis to search your home or car in the first...
Today the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) releases the first in a series of new studies that attempt to shed light on the use of civil asset forfeiture in Texas. Our first study, conducted in Travis County, Texas, reinforces investigations being conducted around the country.
