Men comprise 91 percent of the Texas prison population, but as the number of male inmates has dropped, the female population continues to increase.

Read the rest of this article at Texas Standard.

A recent report shows there are 99 of what the city of Houston considers as ‘alternative homes’ dotted around Harris County, all intended for the purpose of housing parolees.

Read the rest of this article at ABC13.

With the Houston City Council set to vote on proposed ordinances to overhaul regulations for boarding homes and other multi-resident housing, criminal justice reform advocates objected to a proposed 1,000 foot buffer zone for “alternative housing facilities,” saying it would make it harder to provide re-entry services.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle.

Violent crimes — including murder — jumped up again last year in Texas and across the nation, according to new FBI data. It's the second year violent crime has increased from record low levels in 2014.

Read the rest of this article at Texas Tribune.

The FBI released its 2016 Crime in the United States report today and, although there are pockets of increased crime, the data indicates that Texas crime rates have dropped statewide.

Read the rest of this press release here.

Policy Background:

After someone receives a felony offense in Texas, voting rights cannot be restored until he or she has fully completed parole and/or community supervision, a process that can take decades.

Doug Smith and Reggie Smith didn’t have much in common until they both went to prison. They are now deeply involved in a movement of formerly incarcerated individuals advocating for criminal justice reform.

Read the rest of this article at The Utopian.

A new study has found that Harris County leads the country in exonerations, turning loose 48 people in 2016 alone. That's because its crime labs take an added precaution most others don't: testing the materials seized from drug defendants even after they enter guilty pleas.

Read the rest of this article at the Texas Tribune.

A broad-based coalition that includes the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission insists tough-on-crime Texas should get smart on crime by raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 17 to 18. Texas is one of only seven states where 17-year-old offenders are treated as adults.

Read the rest of this article at The Baptist Standard.

If they finish their sentences and comply with any terms of parole, Texans convicted on felony drug charges soon will be able to receive food stamps, though another strike will put them back under a lifetime ban. 

Read the rest of this article at The Texas Tribune.