FY23 Texas JAG Program

The violent crime rate in Texas, since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to slowly decrease over the past couple years with a 2% decrease seen in violent crime offenses in 2022 which is an improvement from the 1% decrease seen from 2020 to 2021. Despite the positive downward trend seen with violent crime, there has been an uptick in the number of property crimes that have occurred in the state with a 9% increase in property crime offenses in 2022. Of the total 817,637 index offenses committed in 2022, property crimes accounted for 84% of those crimes. The Legislative Budget Board stated in their Statewide Criminal and Juvenile Justice Recidivism and Revocation Rates report in February 2023 that, regarding individuals released from a prison or state jail facility in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 that were rearrested within three years of their release or start of supervision, the most prevalent type of offense for which individuals were rearrested was a drug offense and the most prevalent type of offense for which individuals were reincarcerated was a drug or property offense. The Texas Office of the Governor’s Public Safety Office (PSO) proposes to use its FY2023 Byrne JAG funds to further support the reduction of crime and making Texas a safer place which includes helping victims of crime recover and feel safe again while building trust within the communities with local law enforcement. Grant funds may be used to provide additional law enforcement and court personnel, specialized equipment and training for law enforcement, officer wellness programs, pre-trial diversion programs, jail or prison-based treatment programs, reentry programs, community policing and community-based violence prevention programs, and specialized software and training for court and correctional personnel. PSO anticipates the outcome of this funding will result in a reduction in crime, violence, and recidivism.