In this assignment, you will explore and evaluate the Texas criminal justice system. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ.) oversees 17 state jails in 16 counties. This system opened in 1995 and is one of the largest prison systems in the world and Texas spends millions of dollars on it. There have been efforts to reform the system and to focus more on rehabilitation and treatment, but are those efforts working? Many see reform as a human right and that what we are doing now has a detrimental social impact on families and society as a whole and that we need more reform. Others feel we are making great strides and meeting the challenges of a modern criminal justice system and society. It is time to see again what you think.
You may want to first explore the optional documents below to help with your research. Once you have done the research, answer the following topics within your paper.
The Questions:
Give a brief overview in your own words of the Texas criminal justice system since the early/mid 1990’s.
Based on your research (provide citations), identify and explain 1 area where the state of Texas has made good progress on reform and 1 areas of concern that remain and need more reform efforts.
Identify at least one vulnerable group from the system and explain why we need to focus on reform for the particular group. (ex. juveniles, minority, women, poor, etc.)
Research examples (and provide citations) of reform that are being used in the United States and/or around the world. Give at least 3 suggestions for reforming Texas’ system moving forward (including at least one suggestion for your vulnerable group identified in number 3 above) and predict whether state law makers and the public would support your measures. Explain why and how you would implement the reforms in Texas, in your own words. Remember, just because we think something should be implemented or passed doesn’t mean it always will be due to various hurdles policy and law face. Make sure you address why you think your measures will or will not pass, citing specific hurdles they could face (ex. public support, bill process, governor, interest groups and lobbyists, etc.). Note: If you like some of the reform examples you researched/explored, do not just copy them. Provide the explanation in your own words and use appropriate citations/reference page.
Requirement for this paper: For your research done in questions 2 and 4 above, use Google Scholar and or Peer Reviewed articles from the TCCD Library only. Make sure to also provide proper citations and reference page.
TCCD Writing Centers
TCCD LibGuide – Library Research (https://library2.tccd.edu)
How to find peer reviewed articles at the TCCD Library? How to find peer reviewed articles at the TCCD Library?
For Google Scholar – just type “Google Scholar” into your internet browser. Select Google Scholar and the following box should appear for you to begin searching for materials. Note: The picture below is a sample only.
