A couple of GOP senators want Texas criminal justice data improved:
The House Public Safety Committee today will hear SB 777 by Sen. Steve Ogden that requires DPS and local agencies to gather statistical information about outcomes in Texas DWI cases - how many are dismissed, how many plead to lesser charges, etc.. See the text of the bill (pdf) for the information they'd gather in an annual, statewide report.
Meanwhile, speaking of crime data, a good bill by Sen. Florence Shapiro, SB 1061 - aimed at counties which aren't meeting their obligations for reporting crime and adjudication data to the Department of Public Safety - passed the Senate last week and is waiting to be assigned to a House committee. This is a longstanding problem I've written about several times. Counties that don't report 90% of the required data will be required to create a committee to come up with a "data reporting improvement plan." Shapiro said on the Senate floor that if this doesn't do the trick, in two years the Lege will need to come back to add penalties and put more teeth in the law.
I like both these bills and am glad to see them moving through the process. It's good to see legislators seeking more information to help them make decisions instead of just winging it and flying blind.
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"The House Public Safety Committee today will hear SB 777 by Sen. Steve Ogden that requires DPS and local agencies to gather statistical information about outcomes in Texas DWI cases - how many are dismissed, how many plead to lesser charges, etc.. See the text of the bill (pdf) for the information they'd gather in an annual, statewide report."
It's already required. It's called CJIS. The information from CJIS could be used for the report, provided all three contributors (arresting agency, prosecutor, court) report according to program guidelines.
Until Austin imposes penalties (loss of state funding to le agencies, decrease prosecutor salaries, supplemental pay for county judges, state district judge salaries) for failig to report, look for the present CJIS reporting practices to continue.
Course they won't ever do these things.
Sen. Shapiro's bill is headed in that direction, but no penalties this time around.
The ship of state turns slowly, and sometimes it takes several sessions focused on an issue before these types of problems can be resolved because of complexity stemming from too many actors and agendas.
At least they're focused on the problem now, which IMO is a positive development compared to previous sessions when nobody seemed to care.
Thanks for your response. When it come to the Texas CCP, it seems I cannot understand why the lege inserts the word "shall" without an "or else." :)
Our DWI laws have gotten so kooky that when prosecutors have insufficient evidence for a class B DWI conviction, and offer to refile the case as a class B charge such as "obstruction of a roadway" in exchange for the defendant's no-contest plea, they refer to that as a "reduction."
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