Women ‘Disregarded’ in Justice Reform, Says Texas Group

Women have been left out of the national focus on justice reform, even as the number of incarcerated females has increased, according to a Texas advocacy group.

Read the rest of this post at The Crime Report.

Report: Female incarceration rising in Texas prisons

AUSTIN, Texas — Fifty-three-year-old Annette Price visits prisoners every week in hopes that sharing their stories gives them hope. 

Read the rest of this story at Spectrum News Austin.

Reform group calls for action to lower growing number of women in prison

More women are finding themselves in Texas prisons and jails, and one criminal justice reform group is urging lawmakers and local officials to enact policies to stop that trend.

Read the rest of this article at The Texas Tribune.

New Report Shows Growing Number of Women in Texas Prisons and Jails

Today, TCJC released part one of a two-part report series on women in Texas prisons and jails. A Growing Population: The Surge of Women into Texas’ Criminal Justice System examines the staggering rise in the number of women in Texas’ justice system and makes recommendations for programs and policies that can reverse this trend and effectively redirect women away from incarceration.

Read the rest of this press release here.

Travis County Plans New Women's Jail

One evening last September, an employee at the local organization Grassroots Lead­er­ship was scanning through Travis Coun­ty's proposed budget when she stumbled upon plans for a new $91 million women's jail on the county's Del Valle correctional campus.

Read the rest of this article at the Austin Chronicle.

Advocates Urge Halt To Travis County Plans For New Women's Jail

Instead, nine community groups urge for greater focus to be placed on implementing recommendations aimed at reducing incarceration rates.

Read the rest of this article at Patch.

Texas female prison population rises as male population decreases

The female prison population in the Lone Star state is on the rise even as fewer men are filling state lock-ups - but experts say it's not clear why.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle.

Policy Areas

More women are jailed in Texas, even though arrests have dropped. Why?

Back when the county jail here housed maybe three women, jailers didn’t have to worry much about contraband mascara, tampon shortages or raunchy love notes in the intra-inmate mail.

Read the rest of this article at Dallas News.

Policy Areas

UT study finds longer incarceration for girls, but why remains unclear

When Erin Espinosa was a probation officer in Texas, she often found herself between a rock and a hard place when she had to decide whether to keep a girl detained after committing a crime or return her on probation to a troubled home.

Read the rest of this article at myStatesman.