Texas Department of Criminal Justice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Texas Department of Criminal Justice | |
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| Logo of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. | |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1989 |
| Employees | 37,000 (2004) |
| Annual budget | $2.5 billion USD (2006) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of Texas, USA |
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| Map of Texas Department of Criminal Justice's jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 261,797 square miles |
| Population | 24,326,974 (2008 est.)[1] |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Huntsville |
| Agency executives |
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| Website | |
| Texas Department of Criminal Justice Website | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain oversight of community supervision, and supervision of offenders released from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. The TDCJ operates the second largest state prison system in the United States.[2] In 2001 it was the largest prison system.[3]
The department has its headquarters in Huntsville.[3][4] The department has offices at the Price Daniel Sr. Building in Downtown Austin and at Spur 59 off Highway 75 North in Huntsville.[5][6]
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[edit] History
In 1848, the Texas Legislature passed "An Act to Establish a State Penitentiary", which created an oversight board to manage the treatment of convicts and administration of the penitentiaries. Land was acquired in Huntsville and Rusk for later facilities.[7]
The prison system began as a single institution, located in Huntsville. The Department was and still is the only state agency based outside the capital of Austin. A second prison facility, Rusk Penitentiary, began receiving convicts in January 1883.[7]
Various administrative changes where the organization of the managing board of the department occurred over the next one hundred years.[7] In 1989, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Board of Criminal Justice were created. The Board is composed of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate to six year overlapping terms. This new agency absorbed the functions of many state agencies.[8]
[edit] Major divisions
The department encompasses the following major divisions:
- Correctional Institutions Division
- Parole Division
- Community Justice Assistance Division
[edit] Windham School District
Windham School District was created in 1969 to provide adult education in Texas prisons. The district was the first school system of its size to be established within a statewide prison system. Windham is one of the largest correctional education systems in the nation, providing educational programs and services in most Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) facilities.[9]
[edit] Fallen officers
Since the inception of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 55 officers have died in the line of duty.[10]
[edit] Prisons operated by the Correctional Institutions Division
See List of Texas state prisons
[edit] See also
- List of United States state correction agencies
- List of law enforcement agencies in Texas
- Capital punishment in Texas
- List of individuals executed in Texas
[edit] References
- ^ "2008 Population Estimates" (xls). US Census. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- ^ "Prisoners 2007." U.S. Department of Justice. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "Huntsville Prison Blues." National Public Radio. September 10, 2001. Retrieved on December 2, 2009.
- ^ "LIVINGSTON NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF STATE’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. July 28, 2005. Retrieved on December 2, 2009.
- ^ "Web Directory - Texas Department of Criminal Justice." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 13, 2008.
- ^ "Contact Information." Third Court of Appeals of Texas. Accessed September 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Texas Prison Board: An Inventory of Records of the Texas Prison System at the Texas State Archives, 1913-1933, 1943, undated". http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20046/tsl-20046.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ "An Inventory of Board of Criminal Justice Minutes and Meeting Files at the Texas State Archives, 1881-1885, 1900-2006". http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20128/tsl-20128.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ "Overview of Windham School District". http://www.windhamschooldistrict.org/divisions/overview.php. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ The Officer Down Memorial Page
[edit] External links
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Windham School District
- Texas Prison Museum
- Prison System from the Handbook of Texas Online
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