NCJ Number
205538
Date Published
March 2004
Length
124 pages
Annotation
This description of the process of prisoner reentry in Texas examines the policy context associated with reentry, the characteristics and demographic distribution of the State's released inmates, how they 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 to which they return.
Abstract
The report consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends in Texas and presents a new analysis of data on Texas prisoners released in 2001. Declining parole approval rates and legislation that requires inmates to serve greater percentages of their sentences have contributed to an increase in time served by inmates and consequently the size of the prison population. The inmate release patterns reflect inmate admission and population trends; 58,949 inmates were released from Texas prisons and State jails in 2002, nearly 6 times the number of inmates released in 1980. In 2001, most released inmates were male, and nearly half were non-Hispanic Blacks; one-third were non-Hispanic Whites; and 24 percent were Hispanic. The median age at release was 34. Most (39 percent) had been incarcerated for drug offenses. In 2002, most inmates participated in work activities, and a significant proportion participated in work-readiness and education programs. A few participated in vocational or formal substance abuse treatment programs. In 2001, 62 percent of the inmates were released through nondiscretionary means (i.e., mandatory release or expiration of sentence). In 2001, more than half (53 percent) of released inmates were subject to parole supervision after release, and 2 percent were subject to felony probation supervision. Most inmates (84 percent) were subject to postrelease supervision. Ninety-nine percent of inmates released in 2001 returned to Texas communities, with 58 percent returning to 5 of the State's 254 counties. High levels of poverty and crime characterized most of the neighborhoods to which released inmates returned. 58 figures and appended characteristics of ex-prisoners by postrelease supervision and an overview of probation