Saturday links roundup

I'm out for the day, but here's a brief roundup of Texas-related criminal justice items from the blogosphere and beyond:

The Chief Speaks. DallasBlog's Trey Garrison interviews Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle.

Drug Courts and Recidivism. The Corpus Christi Caller Times had a good article about their local drug court, but the writer dramatically overstated recidivism rates. The paper said the local drug court had "a recidivism rate of about 3 percent, which is shockingly below the 60 percent of released convicts nationwide who are arrested again." Three percent is pretty darn good, but I don't know where those national figures came from. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas' three-year recidivism rate (those who re-enter prison within three years of their release) is just 28.2% (see TDCJ outcome measures, pdf, p. 137).

Drug Free Zones Redux. Concurring Opinions discusses the Justice Policy Institute report I mentioned on drug free zones.

Slippery Slopes. South Texas Chisme was surprised to learn sexual assault is tolerated in prison, not against inmates - by prison officials against co-workers.

Walkout! South TX Chisme also had a roundup on student walkouts protesting the federal immigration bill. Vince points out kids are even walking out in my hometown of Tyler, and I see in Lufkin too, and El Paso. Kuff thinks the kids should change tactics. Meanwhile, Nate wants a guest worker program, and Rep. Pena thinks the GOP is risking Latino votes.

Consequences of Corruption. Libby points out why a border wall won't stop drug trafficking - one corrupt border guard can let more contraband through a checkpoint than the rest can seize in a year along the whole Texas-Mexico border.