UNDERSTANDING THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTIONS OF INCARCERATION, REHABILITATION, EDUCATION, RE-ENTRY, & OTHER ISSUES: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION JUNE 2006 TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER P.O. BOX 301587, AUSTIN, TX 78703-0027 [email protected] www.crimininaljusticecoalition.org 512.441.8123 TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER Ana Yáñez-Correa, Executive Director Molly Totman, J.D.; Analyst and Editor Joseph P. A. Villescas, Ph.D.; Research Consultant RECOMMENDED CITATION: Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. (2006). “Understanding the Public’s Perceptions of Incarceration, Rehabilitation, Education, Re-entry & Other Issues: Recommendations for the Sunset Advisory Commission.” Austin, TX. ABSTRACT: The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) recently developed an anonymous on-line survey to measure Texans’ perceptions of key aspects of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). This survey has allowed TCJC to determine how the public perceives the purpose of Texas’ prison systems, as well as the range of services provided for prisoners during and after their incarceration. Over 4,000 Texans of various socioeconomic, racial, and generational backgrounds responded to the survey within a two week period. They answered questions relating to prisoner mail, prisoner visitation, prisoner family assistance, prisoner recreation, services for children of the incarcerated, the purpose of TDCJ, prevention of drug re-offense, public safety, education, criminal justice spending, criminal justice budgeting, re-entry, and hiring of former offenders. TCJC has developed this document to provide the Sunset Advisory Commission with socially relevant findings to consider during its audit of TDCJ, including during its observations of public hearings, review of testimony, and examination of other expert recommendations regarding the manner in which TDCJ should administers its prisons, its parole and probation systems, and its treatment programs. KEYWORDS: Criminal Justice; Incarceration; Inmate(s); Prisoner(s); Prison System; Re-entry; Rehabilitation Additional information about this document may be obtained by contacting the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition’s Research & Public Education Center by phone at (512) 441.8123, Ext. 104, by e-mail at [email protected], or on-line at www.criminaljusticecoalition.org. © 2006 Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. All rights reserved. Any reproduction of the material herein must credit the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. The “Understanding the Public’s Perceptions of Incarceration, Rehabilitation, Education, Re-entry & Other Issues: Recommendations for the Sunset Advisory Commission” is available for free from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition at www.criminaljusticecoalition.org. TABLE OF CONTENTS Intro: Understanding the Public’s Perceptions of Incarceration, Rehabilitation, Education, Re-Entry, & Other Issues: Recommendations for the Sunset Advisory Commission 2 Overview of Findings 2 Demographics of Survey Respondents 2 Survey Part 1: Services 2 Prisoner Mail 3 Prisoner Visitation 3 Prisoner Family Assistance 4 Prisoner Recreation 4 Services for Children of the Incarcerated 5 Education 5 Survey Part 2: Treatment and Spending 5 The Purpose of TDCJ 6 Prevention of Drug Re-Offense 6 Public Safety 6 Criminal Justice Spending 7 Criminal Justice Budgeting 7 Re-Entry 7 Survey Part 3: Employment 8 Hiring of Former Offenders 8 Summary 9 Comparisons Between Groups 11 Recommendations Appendices 13 Appendix A: Comments from Respondents on Preliminary Sunset List of Issues 13 Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Question 1: How effective are TDCJ’s offender incarceration, rehabilitation, educational and re-entry programs? What changes, if any, should be made to improve them? 13 Incarceration TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER 2006 1 13 Incarceration as a Policy; Its purpose 14 Do Not Incarcerate Nonviolent Offenders, or Incarcerate Them for Shorter Periods of Time than Violent Offenders 17 Separate Prisoners According to Offense 18 Prisoner Mistreatment and Abuse by Guards 21 General Prison Living Conditions (Harsh, Violent) 25 Prisoner Access to Recreation and Amenities 29 Prisoner Visitation and Family Issues 30 Prisoners Should Work 32 Rehabilitation & Treatment 42 Educational and Vocational/Training Programs 42 Educational Programs 46 Vocational/Training Programs 47 Education & Training Programs 50 Re-Entry Programs 53 Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Question 2: How fair and responsive are TDCJ’s offender classification, grievance, and disciplinary hearings process? How could they be improved? 53 Offender Classification 53 Offender Grievance Process 53 Disciplinary Hearing Process 53 Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Question 3: How adequate are TDCJ’s hiring processes and policies, including background checks and correctional officer eligibility standards in ensuring that TDCJ correctional officers are qualified? 53 Hiring & Pay / Eligibility / Training for CO’s 53 Staff Pay 54 Staff Training and Qualifications 56 Systemic Corruption TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER 2006 2 57 Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Question 4: How fair and responsive is TDCJ’s employee grievance process? How could it be improved? 57 Employee Grievance Process 57 Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Question 5: How well does TDCJ provide information to offenders and offender families regarding offender status, good time credit, parole eligibility, etc.? 57 Provision of Information to Offenders and Families 59 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Question 6: What changes, if any, should be made to the number of Parole Board members and commissioners, or to the size and structure the parole panels? 59 Parole Members, Commissioners, and Panels 59 Parole Officer Pay & Caseloads 62 Parole Officer Accountability and Attitude 62 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Question 7: What factors should be considered in making parole decisions? 63 Parole Decision Factors 65 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Question 8: How consistent are the decisions made by different parole panels? What changes, if any, could be made to improve consistency? 65 Consistency of Parole Decisions 66 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Question 9: Do offenders receive sufficient due process in parole decisions and revocation hearings? If not, what improvements should be made? 66 Due Process Considerations 68 Texas Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, Question 10: How adequate is the current process for awarding and overseeing the contracts with the University of Texas Medical Branch and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center for offender health care? What improvements, if any, could be made to this contractual relationship? 68 Contracts with UTMB and TTUHSC TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER 2006 3 68 Texas Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, Question 11: Are the agency and the university health-care providers doing a sufficient job ensuring offenders receive quality health care services? If not, how could they do better? 71 Ensuring Health Care Services 71 Texas Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, Question 12: How efficient is TDCJ’s process for addressing grievances from offenders and complaints from the public regarding health care issues? What changes, if any, should be made to how the agency handles these types of grievances and complaints? 71 Addressing Health Care Grievances 71 Texas Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, Question 13: What changes, if any, should be made to improve offenders’ access to the prescription and over-the-counter medications they need? 71 Access to Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medication 72 Texas Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, Question 14: What changes, if any, should be made regarding to public’s access to information about offenders health care? 72 Access to Information 73 Additional Respondent Comments Regarding Texas’ Criminal Justice System 73 Importance of Preventative measures prior to incarceration 84 Necessary Changes to the Probation system 90 Re-entry Problems Outside of TDCJ and Suggestions 94 Other Administrative Issues 97 Faith-Based Programs and Chaplaincy 102 Systemic Racial Bias 103 Indigent Defense, Public Defenders, and Other Justice Issues 104 Death Penalty 106 Sentencing Issues and Iniquities 110 Prison Privatization 110 Public Education and Research 110 Public Education 112 Research TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER 2006 4 112 Victim Issues 113 Drug Reform 119 Rehabilitation & Other Alternatives Outside Prison Walls 127 Family Involvement/Issues 129 Appendix B: TCJC Survey Questions TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION RESEARCH & PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER 2006 5 UNDERSTANDING THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTIONS OF INCARCERATION, REHABILITATION, EDUCATION, RE-ENTRY, & OTHER ISSUES: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to identifying and working towards real solutions to the problems facing Texas’ criminal justice system. We do this by identifying and educating the public using cost-effective and innovative tools, partnering with organizations who share our core beliefs, and promoting evidence-based criminal justice solutions that embody the principles of effective management, accountability,