The Management of Criminal Justice Administration in Texas
The management of the personnel and resources used to make sure that the law is upheld in a specific area is known as criminal justice administration. The state's correctional institutions and facilities make up Texas' criminal justice system. It also includes municipal law enforcement officers and departments, county jails, probation offices, juvenile detention facilities, public defenders, and prosecutors. A budget center has also been established in the state to enable timely study and analysis that will support changes being made to the juvenile and criminal justice systems there. (Ward, 2017). The primary aim of improving create societies that are safer and ensure that the people who come to contact with these systems get reformed and achieve outcomes that are better. The analysis and research of the budget ensure that better choices are made about the allocation of the resources to this criminal justice.
The Effects of Budget Cuts on Texas Criminal Justice Facilities
In the article “State budget-writers say four prisons now may be up for closure" the author, Mike Ward takes a look at the system budget cuts and the concerns that they raise in the criminal justice department in Texas. The article looks at the effects that the budget allocation cuts could have on the criminal justice facilities in the state. According to the article more that $4 million are to be cut from the proposals that have been made to the budget (Ward, 2017). The budget cuts are as a result of some activities being seen as wasteful, and that adds no value to the reforms of the department. However, the criminal justice experts assert that proper prison and correctional facilities conditions ensure that there is order in the system. Even if they may seem to be wasteful, they add a lot of value towards the program of rehabilitation of the inmates and those who come into contact with the criminal justice facilities.
Short-sightedness of Budget Cuts
Cutting the budget means that the amenities that are offered to the inmates will also be reduced. This is a short-sighted idea according to the author of the article. The amenities that will be cut include; food, rehabilitation facilities, and educational facilities. The effects of reducing these amenities will be collateral, and there are chances that they will cost more than address them and it will also be more costly to run the prisons. Cutting of these amenities might also make the prisoners angrier, the angry will be uncooperative, and there will be more incidents of use of force in the correctional facilities (Ward, 2017). This means that the correctional services do not meet their objectives of reforming the inmates in the right manner. Although the prisons in Texas have seemed to be more peaceful and calm over the years, in the recent time's brawls and riots, have been reported. This is reportedly caused by the mundane items such as the access to television, health care and the food that is served in the prisons. The effects of the budget cuts are being felt by the criminal justice department in the state. However, the results have not been so adverse that they can be felt by the public. Even if this is the case, the budget cuts need to be checked so that they do not get to the point where they affect the safety of the general public. The small changes that are being made in the criminal justice department affect the correctional facilities, the inmates in this facilities notice even the small changes. For instance, if the number of desserts served in a week are reduced, and the type of bread that the inmates are served is changed (Ward, 2017). They also have to show a reaction to these changes and some of the responses may be adverse. The inmates who are angry are more dangerous because the staffers are already demoralized by the low salaries. According to a pay ranking statistics, the state of Texas ranks almost at the bottom when it comes to the wages that are paid to the correctional facilities staffers. This is seen to cause the morale issue, because of this the primary objective of the correctional facilities might not be achieved as it is supposed. The staffers who are contented and satisfied with their works are critical to the well-being of the inmates. Educational cutbacks also affect the prisoners, some of the prisoners have the passion for continuing with their studies even when in prison. Other prisoners also desire to start learning while in prison. If there are cutbacks in education, there is likelihood that the inmates will get angry and react. Education is also another way of rehabilitating the inmates. The money-saving changes that have been made in the criminal justice system including staff layoffs canceled treatment facilities, failure to replace the equipment that has become faulty. The staffers are also being charged for the staff houses that used to be free. There are also other changes that have been effected to ensure that the budgetary spending of the correctional facilities has been reduced (Ward, 2017). These changes affect the morale of the staffers and the inmates in the correctional facilities. In most cases, the effects are adverse and affect the way the criminal justice rehabilitation is done. I chose this article because it uses insights from experts in the field of criminal justice who are conversant with the criminal justice system in Texas. The article also has facts about the issues that are caused by the budgetary problems and cutbacks. The author presents the facts simply and logically that makes it easier for one to understand the article. In conclusion, it can be seen that the budgeting issues are affecting the criminal justice administration in the state of Texas. Although the effects that are caused may not have effects that can be felt by the general public, with time the consequences could be felt. The budgeting issue affects all levels of the criminal justice administration. I can recommend that the budgetary cuts that are made by the state should be done systematically if there is a need. All the stakeholders also need to be consulted and informed about any plans that are there for the budgetary cuts. The relevant authorities need to conduct assessments, research and analysis to ascertain that their actions of cutting the budget do not affect the way the criminal justice administration is operated.
References
Ward, M. (2017). State budget-writers say four prisons now may be up for closure. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/texas-politics/texas-legislature/article/State-budget-writers-Four-prisons-may-now-be-up-10986674.php
