NCJ Number
155540
Date Published
1993
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This report presents county jail backlog projections for the State of Texas and for Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, El Paso, Jefferson, Nueces, Galveston, Hidalgo, Cameron, and Lubbock Counties for fiscal year 1994.
Abstract
The projections account for the impact of the proposed prison admissions allocation formula on county jail backlogs. Proposed amendments to the current allocation formula reduce the weight for violent index crimes from 15 to 10, for all index crimes from 20 to 10, for probation placements from 10 to 5, and for juvenile probation funding from 10 to 5. On the other hand, the weight for parole releases is increased from 10 to 15 and a new factor for the "jail backlog population" is added and given a weeight of 20. The proposed formula will increase prison admissions in Harris, Tarrant, and Travis Counties but will decrease prison admissions in Dallas, Bexar, El Paso, Jefferson, Nueces, Galveston, Hidalgo, Cameron, and Lubbock Counties. The backlog of paper ready prisoners in county jails is projected to be 21,998 by August 1994. The proposed prison admissions allocation formula will allow jail backlogs in Harris, Tarrant, and Travis Counties to decrease faster than under the current allocation, with Harris County experiencing the largest decrease. By August 1994, the backlog of convicted felons physically located in Harris County will be 1,208 lower under the proposed formula than under the current formula (backlog of 4,975 versus 6,183). 9 tables and 1 chart