Research/Document Library

A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Texas

The growing number of prisoners—55,183 in 2001—returning to neighborhoods throughout Texas elevates the importance of prisoner reentry in the state. This report describes the process of prisoner reentry in Texas by examining the policy context surrounding reentry, the characteristics and geographic distribution of the state's returning prisoners, how prisoners are prepared for their release, the process by which they are released, how they are supervised once released, and the social and economic climates of the neighborhoods that are home to the largest numbers of returning prisoners. This report does not attempt to evaluate a specific reentry program nor does it empirically assess reentry policies and practices in Texas. Rather, the report consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends and presents a new analysis of data on Texas prisoners released in 2001. The data used for this report were derived from several sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Criminal Justice Policy Council, Texas Department of Public Safety, Houston Police Department, and City of Houston's Planning and Development Department.

Available online

http://www.urban.org/

Author(s)

Jamie Watson, Amy L. Solomon, Nancy G. La Vigne, Jeremy Travis, Meagan Funches, Barbara Parthasarathy

Date

March 2004

State

Texas

Publisher

The Urban Institute