Posted on 05/23/2004 12:39:12 PM PDT by Stoat
Exception brings state's sex offenders to Harris County
HOUSTON — Rapists, child molesters and child pornographers have moved into Harris County at a rate nearly three times that of the general population, partly because of a local halfway house that has become the preferred destination for thousands of Texas sex offenders.
Once home to the Southern Bible College, a 10-acre site in east Houston now hosts the Reid Community Corrections Center, a sprawling halfway house that is home to nearly 400 parolees — 224 of whom are registered sex offenders — from all over Texas.
Thanks to quirks in state law and a shortage of treatment and correctional facilities, nearly two-thirds of those sex offenders are from outside Harris County. But many will make Harris County their permanent home.
State law requires convicts be paroled to the county of their conviction — in most cases, their home county. However, the law allows exceptions for cases in which a sex offender's home county has no acceptable facilities available. And most do not.
Only nine of Texas' 254 counties have halfway houses, and only three accept sex offenders and parolees from other counties — a 170-bed facility in Beaumont, a 165-bed operation in El Paso and Houston's Reid Center, run by Cornell Corrections, a private, for-profit corrections company.
Between 1990 and 1997, Harris County's population increased by nearly 15 percent. But that figure was dwarfed by the rate of sex offenders moving to the county — an increase of 53 percent over the same period.
The majority of Reid's beds usually are taken up by parolees convicted of sex offenses. In August, for example, 58 percent of the residents there had been paroled from a sex offense conviction — and two-thirds of them were from outside Harris County. Residents typically stay at Reid from six months to two years.
Paroled sex offenders in halfway houses are required to look for jobs and their own homes. Out-of-county offenders sent to Reid are required to look for their work and homes within Harris County, so those who are successful usually end up moving to the area after their release from Reid.
Of the 146 out-of-county sex offenders living at Reid in August, 39 have moved out to their own homes — 19 in Harris County and 20 outside the county. A study of out-of-county offenders moving from Reid in 1997 showed similar percentages.
Those in the corrections and treatment fields say the underlying problem is that there aren't more facilities like Reid.
"Ideally, you would want smaller facilities and better geographic layouts," Bryan Collier, the director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's parole division, told the Houston Chronicle for its Saturday editions. "Fifteen or 20, but not necessarily huge numbers of beds, so there would be better geographic placement of offenders. It would be nice to have one in medium counties. Right now, only major metropolitan areas have them."
Houston ping--
why on earth is that going to be in Texas? cant he continue to stink up arkansas (sorry to good ark folks)
A lot of funny additions could be made to that library design. Most of them would be inappropriate for this website.
Texas surely has it's share of problems w illegals & now the sex offenders.
It is a wonderful & remarkable state.
Well, we all surely know (deep down in our hearts) that both are Dubya's fault ...there will be some way it can be linked to him.
I have my own idea about where sex offenders should be sent.. but I would prolly be banned.
Um, that was a joke...
Too funny!
THANK YOU! At least *someone* got my sense of humor! :)
I also understand the significance of the drawing. Appropriate design, however the main wing should be considerably shorter and bent at a 45 degree angle.
Also, are they going to landscape the downhill in the form of a sink?
Meanwhile, how was The Who? Didn't realize Johansen was opening the show.
good... I am pretty gullible.
:)
Also, are they going to landscape the downhill in the form of a sink?
I thought they'd put a model of Monica's lips at the bottom!
Meanwhile, how was The Who? Didn't realize Johansen was opening the show.
Amazing beyond words. Johansen was quite good, too. The Who did 2 encores and some other rarities -- Roger and Pete alone on an acoustic version of "Naked Eye." They did a little "Young Man Blues" in a the "My Generation" jam. Here's the setlist:
I Can't Explain
Substitute
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
Who Are You
Behind Blue Eyes
Baba O'Riley
5.15
The Punk And The Godfather
Love Reign O'er Me
Eminence Front
Drowned (PT solo acoustic)
Naked Eye (PT & RD solo acoustic)
Real Good Looking Boy
You Better You Bet
My Generation /Young Man Blues (part)/ Old Red Wine
Won't Get Fooled Again
Encore 1
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey / Sparks
See Me Feel Me
Listening to You
Encore 2
Magic Bus
That is just so completely sad and depressing, I hardly have words to express it.
I visited NZ in 1987 and fell in love with the natural beauty of the country and in the kindness, courtesy, graciousness and general goodness of the people I met there. This is utterly heartbreaking and I hope that the voices of sanity and reason will ultimately prevail.
,,, thanx for those kind words Stoat. The Labour government here realises they're in their last term and won't gain re-election, hence their desire to push Communism's agenda thru as much as possible before then.
No, the underlying problem is that the problems are not lying under.
Amen, sir.
BTTT for street justice !
Whoa! They did "Substitute"! That and "London: Cold Taxi" are my favorite songs.
Townsend had some bigtime issues doing that song because of the legal hassles with Talmy and Brunswick. Same goes for "Instant Party".
Sounds like a great show. Also, Johansen is a great entertainer. In Style was his best solo album. I also like his folk stuff with the Harry Smiths.
And of course, the New York Dolls.
They *always* do "Substitute" - LOL! "Naked Eye" was a new one, and they brought "The Punk and the Godfather" out of the mothballs on Thursday night, in Boston. The teaser of "Young Man Blues" was damn good, too. :)
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