(CBS 11 News) DALLAS CBS 11 has
learned certain criminals could soon be out on the
streets instead of behind bars. One county
commissioner will meet with newly elected judges to
encourage them to hand out probation instead of jail
time.
Dallas resident Benji Russell walks his dog in the "M" streets every night, but the thought of seeing more criminals on that walk is worrisome.
“It makes me uneasy because people will keep doing it over and over again,” Russell said.
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price says it's time to change the way misdemeanor offenders are handled, and he's pushing probation over incarceration.
“I know there is no offense that anyone, who is especially a compliant or a victim, thinks is of a misdemeanor nature, but at some point in time we’ve got to manage the population,” Price says.
With Lew Sterrett at capacity, the county is being forced to reopen an old jail that's been closed for 15 years. Price argues it's more cost effective to put low level offenders back in the community and manage them with probation officers instead of spending $32 a day to keep them behind bars.
“If you lock someone up who is a class offender that’s a murderer, it basically has the same cost factor associated as a misdemeanor,” Price says.
Price will meet with newly elected judges on Friday to encourage them to focus on probation sentences. Greg Holliday spent three decades in the Dallas Police Department and now lobby’s in Austin on crime issues. He worries this fundamental shift in the attitude toward crime will ultimately hurt the county.
“It can have a chilling effect on business and the community,” Holliday said. “People won't want to move here if they think we're not serious about crime.”
That’s a concern that hits home for Benji Russell every time he walks down the street.
Greg Holliday points out that after car burglaries were down graded to misdemeanors instead of felonies in Texas, the number of offenses drastically went up.
Dallas resident Benji Russell walks his dog in the "M" streets every night, but the thought of seeing more criminals on that walk is worrisome.
“It makes me uneasy because people will keep doing it over and over again,” Russell said.
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price says it's time to change the way misdemeanor offenders are handled, and he's pushing probation over incarceration.
“I know there is no offense that anyone, who is especially a compliant or a victim, thinks is of a misdemeanor nature, but at some point in time we’ve got to manage the population,” Price says.
With Lew Sterrett at capacity, the county is being forced to reopen an old jail that's been closed for 15 years. Price argues it's more cost effective to put low level offenders back in the community and manage them with probation officers instead of spending $32 a day to keep them behind bars.
“If you lock someone up who is a class offender that’s a murderer, it basically has the same cost factor associated as a misdemeanor,” Price says.
Price will meet with newly elected judges on Friday to encourage them to focus on probation sentences. Greg Holliday spent three decades in the Dallas Police Department and now lobby’s in Austin on crime issues. He worries this fundamental shift in the attitude toward crime will ultimately hurt the county.
“It can have a chilling effect on business and the community,” Holliday said. “People won't want to move here if they think we're not serious about crime.”
That’s a concern that hits home for Benji Russell every time he walks down the street.
Greg Holliday points out that after car burglaries were down graded to misdemeanors instead of felonies in Texas, the number of offenses drastically went up.
(CBS 11 News)
