NCJ Number
189741
Date Published
2001
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This report presents the official Texas legislative projection of juvenile justice correctional populations for fiscal years 2000-2005; the projection is the same as that of June 2000, since there have been no significant changes in trends that impact the numbers.
Abstract
Juvenile arrests in Texas declined by 2.5 percent in 1997, 4.0 percent in 1998, and 10.3 percent in 1999 after a steady increase in prior years. Juveniles arrested for violent offenses continued to represent a small percentage of all juveniles arrested (3 percent in 1999). Referrals to juvenile probation departments declined in 1999 for the fourth consecutive year. The reduction in arrests and referrals, along with a policy adopted by the last legislature restricting the commitment to the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) of juveniles who have committed certain misdemeanor offenses, is projected to help stabilize the demand for TYC space. The TYC population has increased in recent years due primarily to increased time served for juveniles committed and increased probation and parole revocations due to the implementation of tougher community supervision policies. TYC is projected to have adequate capacity to meet the demand for space until late 2005. After all scheduled TYC capacity expansion is completed, TYC will have a capacity of 6,120. The projected TYC population for August 2004 is 6,014. Only an additional 64 beds will be needed to meet demand by August 2005. These beds can be acquired through contracted capacity. The juvenile probation population is expected to start increasing again after a recent stabilization of approximately 39,000 juveniles in 1998 and 1999. Extensive tabular and graphic data