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'Texas parole reforms lowered crime, costs'

The title of this post is the headline of an effective op ed in the Dallas News by Marc Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Here's how the piece opens:Public safety is job one, but recent improvements in Texas parole outcomes demonstrate that we can be safer while saving money.In 2008, 1,016 fewer Texas parolees were alleged to have committed a new crime than in 2007. Net savings may exceed $96 million. These gains continued in 2009, though scaling back parole supervision could reverse this progress.Why are so many fewer parolees committing crimes? For starters, substance abuse treatment resumed in 2005. Prior to 2007, drug tests were sent to a laboratory, creating a delay of a few weeks. Now, results are instant and most parolees with a drug problem admit to it before being tested...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).