The Latest

Select below to sort the latest blogs, new articles, and press releases.
Thursday, March 18, 2021

Smart Sentencing

The Texas Smart-on-Crime Coalition’s newest report, “Smart Sentencing: The Right Strategy for Addressing Substance Use in Texas,” highlights the coalition’s recommendations to address the critical issues that come with incarcerating individuals for their drug addiction. Research shows that incarceration is less effective and more costly than community supervision and treatment for low-level drug offenses. The […]

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Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Smart-On-Crime Lauds Lawmakers for Significant Progress on Criminal Justice Reform

AUSTIN, TX – Texas’ largest statewide effort to reform the state’s criminal justice system today lauded the Texas Legislature for their work in making the system smarter, safer and more cost effective. From women’s dignity legislation to occupational licensing reform, criminal justice reform generated broad-based, bipartisan support during this year’s Legislative Session. “Criminal justice reform […]

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Friday, March 8, 2019

Formerly Incarcerated Women, State Leaders Stand Together For Women’s [In]Justice Day

On International Women’s Day, formerly incarcerated women, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, and members of the Texas Smart-On-Crime Coalition stood together to discuss the impact of the state’s criminal justice system on women and to highlight proposed reforms under consideration by the Texas Legislature.

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Monday, April 30, 2018

New Survey Shows Texas Republican Voters Support Key Criminal Justice Reforms

The Texas Smart-On-Crime Coalition is excited to announce the release of new 2018 Texas Republican Primary Voter Survey polling data showing strong Texas voter support for key criminal justice reforms ahead of Texas’ 86th Legislative Session. Major findings include: 76% of GOP primary voters favor making possession of a small amount of drugs among nonviolent individuals […]

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Texas Smart-On-Crime Top Five Criminal Justice Picks

The Texas Smart-On Crime Coalition is proud to present our policy guide: Top Five Criminal Justice Picks. This guide showcases five critical justice issues that Texas legislators should tackle during the 85th State Legislative Session: Prioritizing Treatment Over Incarceration Reducing Probation Revocations Raising the Age of Juvenile Jurisdiction Promoting an Educational & Vocational Training Pilot […]

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Saturday, May 13, 2017

The State’s Driver Responsibility Program is a Texas-Sized Failure

Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) requires drivers convicted of a certain number of low-level traffic offenses, or specific higher-level driving offenses, to pay an annual surcharge, which is assessed on top of normal court fines and criminal penalties.  These surcharges range from $100-$2,000 every year for at least 3 years.  For many Texans, these fees […]

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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Texas Voters Survey Results

The Texas Smart-On-Crime Coalition is excited to announce the release of new Texas Voters Survey polling data showing strong Texas voter support for alternatives to incarceration, as well as for other criminal justice reform policies currently being considered during Texas’ 85th Legislative Session.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Texas Smart-On-Crime Coalition Legislative Agenda for the 85th Legislative Session

The Texas Smart-On-Crime coalition is proud to announce the official agenda for the 85th Legislative Session.

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Friday, March 10, 2017

Treatment First: A Day of Awareness

On March 10, 2017, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition hosted Treatment First: A Day of Awareness, a Texas Smart-On-Crime Coalition event, that brought together community leaders, experts, inspirational guests, and people impacted by the justice system to discuss and learn about substance use disorders, community-based treatment, and improved public safety.

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Friday, January 20, 2017

Raise the Age

Charles Rotramel is joined by Elizabeth Henneke to discuss the movement to keep Texas 17-year-olds out of the adult criminal justice system, and why it is of critical importance to our kids. Listen to this podcast at reClaimed: Dialogues on Justice and Kinship.

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Texas Smart-On-Crime Coalition