A side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas has been fewer people in prison, a new report says.
From March 31 to Dec. 31, 2020, the state’s prison population dropped 13.7% from 140,124 to 120,873, according to a January report by the State Legislative Budget Board.
“Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adult incarceration population has decreased significantly," the report said. “Qualitative data collection efforts indicate police departments in several jurisdictions were triaging and prioritizing responses to reduce potential for exposure to COVID-19.”
Jury trials were halted and grand jury schedules were adjusted. Transfers of prisoners from county jails to state prisons were temporarily halted.
The Texas prison population has been steadily declining for years.
Since 2011 the state has closed or idled 11 prison facilities, the North Austin News reported.
For fiscal years 2016-2020, the number of adults arrested dropped 33.8%, according to the report from the State Legislative Budget Board.
Much of the decline happened during the 2019-2020 fiscal year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Arrests for all offenses dropped 23.1% during that period, the report said.
Court activity and sentencing will get back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of fiscal year 2022, the budget board projects.
“The adult incarceration population will increase and then remain stable overall,” it said.
By fiscal year 2026, the prison population is projected to be 138,595, still lower than it was a decade earlier, the report said.
Historically, however, Texas has overestimated its prison population. A 2013 projection predicted 156,877 prisoners by 2018, but the number turned out to be only 145,019, according to a state report.
One element in the decline is Texas' criminal justice reforms. This includes treatment and diversion instead of prison, said state Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston). The chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee made this observation in a statement last year following the announcement that the Garza East Jester I Unit in Beeville would close.
“Texas was at the forefront of criminal justice reform last decade," Whitmire said in the statement. "With sustained funding for treatment and prevention programs and a continued focus on additional reforms, Texas will continue to show the nation what it means to be tough but smart on crime.”
