In 2014 there were 923,348 crimes reported in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, including 1,184 murders and 8,236 rapes.
State statistics
Policing
In 2008, Texas had 1,913 state and local law enforcement agencies.
Those agencies employed a total of 96,116 staff.
Of the total staff, 59,219 were sworn officers (defined as those with general arrest powers).
Police ratio
In 2008, Texas had 244 police officers per 100,000 residents.
According to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), the state average for police officers per 100,000 residents in Texas is 241 as of 2021. However, the ratio can vary among different cities and counties in Texas.
Capital punishment laws
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
is applied under Texas state law for capital murder if the perpetrator is 18 years of age and older and the prosecutor seeks the death penalty.
Death Row Facts
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on June 9, 2016.
The federal death penalty may also be used in certain circumstances.
Incarceration
In 1974 the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), since merged into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), had about 17,000 prisoners; 44% were black, 39% were non-Hispanic white, 16% were Hispanic and Latino, and 1% were of other races. 96% were male and 4% were female. At the time all 14 prison units of the TDC were in Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston a ...
.["Behind Bars in Texas: Not All Prisons, Are the Same." '']Texas Monthly
''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...
''. Emmis Communications
Emmis Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for "Truth" (''Emet'') was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR ...
, March 1974. Volume 2, No. 3. ISSN 0148-7736. START: p
42
CITED: p
42
In 1974 the Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
(BOP) operated four federal prisons in Texas: FCI Texarkana, FCI Seagoville, FPC Bryan (for women), and FCI La Tuna. These prisons had a combined population of about 2,300.[
]
See also
*Crime in the United States
Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time. Most available data underestimate crime before the 1930s (due to incomplete datasets and other factors), giving the false impression that c ...
* Crime in Houston
* Law of Texas
References
Further reading
*Harnsberger, R. Scott
''A Guide to Sources of Texas Criminal Justice Statistics''
orth Texas Crime and Criminal Justice Series, no.6 Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2011.
{{CrimeUS