A month after the Texas Department of Public Safety began patrolling Austin streets, city officials have both praised a drop in violent crime and condemned the operation’s disparate impact on Latino and Black residents. In 2019, Dallas faced the same challenges.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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TribCast
TribCast: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice system
In today’s episode, we discuss the problems in the Texas state agency intended to rehabilitate children who have committed crimes — and whether the Legislature is eyeing any solutions.
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Criminal Justice
After backlash, Abbott expresses some regret after labeling all Cleveland shooting victims “illegal immigrants”
The governor’s focus on immigration status, not the loss of life, draws rebukes from across the country.
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Criminal Justice
FBI, Texas authorities search for gunman who killed 5 neighbors in San Jacinto County
In the face of mass shootings in Texas, state leaders have made it easier to access guns.
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Criminal Justice
Gunman kills 5 neighbors, including child, in San Jacinto County home, sheriff says
The suspect, who is still being sought, had been asked to stop shooting his rifle in his front yard because of a sleeping baby, according to authorities.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Protesters decry stalled fentanyl test strip bill; Texas House passes get-tough criminal penalties
Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives.
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Texas Legislature 2023
House passes bill to rein in “rogue” prosecutors
The legislation is in response to elected prosecutors in Texas’ large, left-leaning counties who have said they will not prosecute abortion cases.
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Criminal Justice
Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.
“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.”
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Criminal Justice
“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons
Moving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help.
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Criminal Justice
Seven Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicide
Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. had been transferred from a Texas youth facility to an adult prison despite a long history of suicidal behavior. Five guards and two supervisors allegedly failed to check on him.
