Most Texas counties don't meet governor's new crime data criteria, may lose grants

Grits mentioned earlier this month that the Governor will withhold a portion of federal grant funding from counties beginning next year if they don't adequately update criminal history records, particularly dispositions of cases after an arrest has been made. Of the largest counties, Harris and Bexar have no worries, but Dallas, Travis, Tarrant, El Paso, and many other counties all have significant remedial work to do to avoid losing grant funds. (Find a complete list of non-compliant counties below the jump.) I asked the Governor's office for a copy of the memo, and here's the text:

To:                        Criminal Justice Division (CJD) Grant Recipients of Future Funds
From:                    Christopher Burnett, CJD Executive Director
Date:                    December 14, 2011
Re:                       Important Changes in Eligibility Requirements for Future Grants


While most counties have made great strides over the last few years in reporting criminal history dispositions as required by Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 60, to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the State Auditor’s September 2011 audit of the reporting requirement system shows that more needs to be done.  To assist this effort, the Criminal Justice Division (CJD) is taking the following steps:


Effective September 1, 2012, each county must comply with Chapter 60 reporting requirements in order for the county or any political subdivision within that county to be eligible for grants under CJD’s Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.  This means that by August 1, 2012, each county and any political subdivision within that county that has applied to CJD for JAG grants must provide CJD with a criminal history disposition completeness report documenting that it has reached a 90% disposition completeness rate for adult arrests for calendar years 2006-2010, as measured by DPS.  All jurisdictions, such as cities, in a non-compliant county will be ineligible for JAG funds regardless of whether the county itself applied to CJD for JAG.

Effective September 1, 2013, any entity, public or private, in a county that does not report at 90% or above will be ineligible to receive grants from any state or federal fund sources managed by CJD. 

CJD will discuss possible grant funding to help counties get into compliance. 

Criminal histories must be reported correctly and promptly to DPS as required by Chapter 60.  Many public and private employers use criminal histories as part of the review process when hiring persons for sensitive positions.  Texas and national law enforcement officers need complete criminal histories during traffic stops or during other contacts.  Also, this information is vital for judges to make proper decisions regarding magistration and sentencing.  For these reasons, the Texas Legislature has stressed the need for timely and complete information and has established timelines for counties to achieve average compliance reporting at 90% or above.

I urge you to pay close attention to how these reporting requirements may affect your entire county’s eligibility to receive future grants from CJD.  Please contact Judy Switzer (judy.switzer@gov.texas.gov) for CJD and JAG questions.

If you have technical questions regarding the Chapter 60 data reporting requirements, please contact Angie Kendall at the Texas Department of Public Safety at angie.kendall@dps.texas.gov. 


Click here for a list of counties and their criminal history reporting averages with DPS.

Sincerely,

Christopher Burnett
Executive Director
Criminal Justice Division

When I communicated with the governor's office, they emphasized they were willing to help fund data entry and improvements to data systems, so there's a carrot to go along with the stick. Though it would have been less time consuming to compile a list of counties that DID update reports in 90% of cases, here's the list of the 191 (out of 254) Texas counties that didn't provide sufficient case dispositions for '06-'10, as of the most recent November 2011 reporting period. Each of them, if they don't improve, is at risk of losing a portion of federal grant money flowing into their jurisdiction.

Anderson: 46%
Andrews: 87
Angelina: 84
Archer: 84
Armstrong: 67
Atascosa: 70
Bastrop: 78
Bee: 65
Bell: 87
Blanco: 81
Borden: 64
Bowie: 80
Brazos: 88
Brewster: 57
Briscoe: 86
Brooks: 22
Brown: 86
Burleson: 83
Burnet: 75
Caldwell: 84
Calhoun 84
Cameron: 43
Camp: 78
Carson: 84
Cass: 71
Castro: 42
Chambers: 88
Cherokee: 84
Childress: 77
Clay: 83
Cochran: 55
Coke: 83
Coleman: 81
Collingsworth: 39
Comal: 63
Comanche: 88
Concho: 56
Coryell: 83
Cottle: 53
Crane: 88
Crockett: 82
Crosby: 84
Culberson: 28
Dallam: 76
Dallas: 80
Dawson: 85
Deaf Smith: 86
Denton: 85
Dimmit: 39
Donley: 72
Duval: 62
Eastland: 87
Ector: 84
Edwards: 27
El Paso: 81
Fannin: 84
Fayette: 88
Fisher: 86
Floyd: 74
Foard: 9
Fort Bend: 80
Franklin: 69
Freestone: 69
Frio: 52
Garza: 74
Glasscock: 36
Gonzales: 78
Gray: 70
Grayson: 84
Gregg: 76
Grimes: 59
Guadalupe: 87
Hale: 45
Hall: 47
Hamilton: 73
Hansford: 86
Hardeman: 82
Hardin: 83
Harrison: 84
Hartley: 82
Hays: 83
Hemphill: 76
Hidalgo: 73
Hill: 44
Hockley: 63
Howard: 88
Hudspeth: 2
Hunt: 89
Hutchison: 64
Irion: 87
Jack: 85
Jackson: 87
Jasper: 77
Jeff Davis: 25
Jefferson: 83
Jim Hogg: 72
Jim Wells: 54
Johnson: 88
Jones: 89
Karnes: 75
Kaufman: 85
Kendall: 64
Kenedy: 75
Kent: 81
Kerr: 87
Kimble: 89
Kinney: 54
Kleberg: 81
La Salle: 56
Lamb: 86
Lee: 73
Liberty: 88
Limestone: 83
Live Oak: 74
Llano: 67
Loving: 22
Lubbock: 85
Lynn: 73
Martin: 56
Maverick: 30
McCulloch: 82
McMullen: 88
Medina: 66
Midland: 83
Mills: 88
Mitchell: 85
Montague: 63
Nacogdoches: 84
Navarro: 81
Nueces: 84
Oldham: 61
Orange: 87
Panola: 61
Parker: 86
Parmer: 77
Pecos: 59
Polk: 83
Potter: 89
Presidio: 20
Rains: 87
Randall: 89
Reagan: 72
Real: 56
Red River: 67
Reeves: 54
Refugio: 86
Roberts: 56
Robertson: 89
Rockwall: 89
Runels: 78
Rusk: 78
San Augustine: 48
San Jacinto: 81
San Patricio: 89
San Saba: 63
Schleicher: 88
Scurry: 87
Shelby: 78
Sherman: 60
Somervell: 86
Starr: 19
Stephens: 84
Sutton: 68
Swisher: 30
Tarrant: 69
Terrell: 27
Terry: 59
Throckmorton: 74
Titus: 61
Tom Green: 89
Travis: 77
Trinity: 39
Tyler: 83
Upton: 74
Uvalde: 60
Val Verde: 69
Van Zandt: 73
Victoria: 79
Walker: 74
Waller: 74
Webb: 30
Wharton: 86
Wheeler: 74
Wichita: 81
Willacy: 63
Wilson: 87
Winkler: 79
Wood: 86
Yoakum: 83
Young: 84
Zapata: 3