In a recent wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post’s criminal justice reporter Tom Jackman, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot opened up about the role of drug courts in keeping criminals out of jail and his views on not prosecuting some crimes through his office.
Asking Creuzot about the drug diversion court that he began in his previous capacity as a judge, Jackman inquired, “Has that had an impact … Is that something you can measure with statistics?”
“In 2005, Texas was told, soon, in addition to the 150,000 existing prison beds, that we would need 17,000 more,” Creuzot responded. “So, the question was, ‘What can we do differently?'”
Creuzot’s answer: “divert court.”
The aim of drug courts, or diversion courts, is simple: to slow the flow of criminals into jails.
Creuzot went on to say that he and other judges worked with legislators to develop criteria such as “evidenced-based sentencing” to create the framework for implementing drug diversion courts.
The Center for Sentencing Initiatives explains on its website that so-called evidenced-based sentencing is a “set of sentencing practices designed to promote public safety through risk reduction and management of probation-eligible offenders.”
Tenets of this approach include a systematic approach to “identify probation-eligible offenders who may be safely and effectively supervised in the community given available community resources.”
After identifying these individuals, a court is then to “order appropriate conditions of community supervision given the offender’s individual recidivism risk, criminogenic needs, and responsivity factors.”
“The bottom line is we closed 15 prisons in the state of Texas [since 2005],” Creuzot said.
Whether these types of programs actually work to reduce crime long-term is still a question that its proponents are not fully prepared to answer.
For example, according to The Crime Report, “a widespread lack of data about fees, success rates, recidivism, and who is accepted or rejected from diversion programs, precludes accountability and improvement almost nationwide.”
The Center for Health and Justice echoed that criticism in a recent report saying that a lack of standards in how these programs function has made accountability on cost savings and reductions in crime all but impossible to measure.
Meanwhile, as these programs have shuttered prisons, recent data showed Texas ranked 15th for violent crime per capita amongst all 50 states, and Dallas is currently experiencing its own rise in violent crime.
Jackman also asked Creuzot about crime in Dallas and his approach as the county’s chief prosecutor.
Creuzot gave the example of drug crimes relating to marijuana. His office declines to prosecute any marijuana case, “with a few exceptions,” he said.
Cases involving “4 ounces or less” are not prosecuted “because those cases take up too much of an officer’s time,” he said.
Creuzot’s policy on marijuana, he insists, was instituted to increase the “efficiency” of police resources.
“The community understands what we’re doing here,” Creuzot continued. “We no longer prosecute for simple criminal trespass, people who are homeless or mentally ill, and when we talk about certain types of shoplifting, it’s actually a very small category … it’s those stealing for sustenance.”
Keep Dallas Safe, a local organization focused on crime and vagrancy, has been highly critical of Creuzot’s so-called “theft-amnesty” policies, which essentially permit theft of items less than $750 in value if his office deems them items of necessity.
In email correspondence with The Dallas Express, Keep Dallas Safe’s Jake Colglazier said, “Creuzot repeatedly claims that his policy only applies to those stealing out of necessity, but anybody with common sense can see that he has simply given a free pass to thieves. No matter what your ‘necessities’ are, no one has a right to steal.”
And he was re-elected
And it speaks volumes about the mindset of the media-brainwashed voter.
Stealing is stealing. Have we lost our minds? What about our small businesses who have to pay for these stolen items?
It’s not just businesses. Citizens are suffering from blatant thefts and it’s rising. Trespassing in someone’s back yard to steal a ladder or bike. (and they know he also doesn’t punish for trespassing). People walking up and down streets and alleys in the wee hours, looking around homes as if it’s a shopping mall. And most of those punks are not “needful”. He has given people the idea that they won’t be prosecuted for stealing, so they’re going whole hog. He is encouraging people to steal. Too bad they can’t go to his house. I just bet he has lots of nice things the “needful” could steal.
So what exactly does he think these thieves are learning. “Oh, I stole some because I’m needful and wasn’t punished. So now I’m going to straighten out my life”. What hogwash.
It’s just like when people don’t discipline and punish their kid for doing something wrong. The kid will keep doing it and continue to push the mark.
Creuzot is a woke idiot and so are the morons who voted for him. I guess the majority of Dallas is filled with needful people.
And refusing to allow the death penalty to be considered for that serial killer is ludicrous and shameful.
Why are they not keeping tabs on whether “their way” is a success or not. Are they afraid results?.
Yes. They know it doesn’t work but it gets them elected.
Creuzot would be happy if all criminals were released and he could shut down all prisons.
Well, looks like they shut down 5 prisons. Then they use the excuse of overcrowding. Talk about a setup.
This liberal District Attorney, John Creuzot, is a hemorrhoid on the serenity of life!! He needs to go!! Dallas’s County needs someone in that office who is NOT soft on crime period!!
STEALING is STEALING and it IS WRONG! However, SOME is being forced into a situation where they have to choose between feeding their families and paying for shelter for their families. It cost more for mortgage/rent, water, lights and personal items than a bag of grocery, but both are needed items. One more over the other. It’s not cool to see kids (of ANY race) eating outside in the cold or standing on the corner in the heat begging for bread in one of the nation’s richest countries. Fix that problem then let’s talk about WHY ppl steal for food. UNLESS we are flies on their walls, we cannot judge why ppl did what they did. If we have a problem with that then invite a hungry family to our house and help feed them when they’ve paid all their money towards bills. That’s the difference between the haves that judge the have nots.
you have got to stop watching the DISNEY CHANNEL
Unfortunately, a lot of the theft is being done by punks who have a perfectly warm home to go to. God knows all about the tragedies and horrors of humanity, but he said, “Thou shalt not steal”. You cannot have a workable, sane society if you start accepting illegal activities as the norm. There are many charitable organizations for people in need. The punk stealing a kids bicycle for fun, profit or personal use is not a needful situation. It’s just blatant theft, pure and simple.
When the prisons are so full that the authorities must let murderers out to make room for others, how feckless has our justice system become? The main job of government is to keep its citizens safe. It couldn’t be more obvious that they have failed miserably. The only way to make the system more effective is to hold public officials accountable for their disastrous decisions. When a prosecutor or judge sets a violent felon free, who commits a serious crime again, that prosecutor or judge should be prosecuted for malfeasance or worse.
Wow. If people vote for that they get what they deserve as far as I’m concerned. Sounds like he’s saying to solve the jail capacity problem we’re going to close jails, let more offenders go free and let the average citizen deal bear the consequences and deal with the problems. That’s hysterically unbelievable.
There is no place in a civilized society for stealing as a career choice or begging as a career alternative! John Creuzot have made this city much less safe!
What should be done is take thousands of those needful people and fly them to Martha’s Vineyard. Those people have tons of money and lots to steal. They can start with Obama. He won’t miss any of his ill-gotten, expensive stuff, I’m sure.
And how would you know his “stuff” is “ill-gotten” or “expensive”? Take a visit to Trump Tower, or Mar-A-Lago and see what tax evasion and real estate fraud gets you instead of spreading mis-information . Trump has “tons of money” stolen from hardworking tax payers!
It makes me pray.
I agree, stealing is stealing. I voted against Mr. Creuzot but would like to see someone who might have better ideas than putting a dollar amount on how much is stolen. Creuzot is someone who George Soros supports.
I don’t know about wasn’t punished I went to state jail under that same judge for those exact same charges enhanced so hes a lie part of my whole life being ruined for yrs to come is because of him as my judge before he became DA and he gots money in those facilities meaning he gets paid from those beds being filled that’s why he sends people to those places including small thefts which consist of jail rehabilitation time for almost a yr and yrs of following probàtion what a mess he’s made
When you shop in a Dallas County store you pay a hidden tax – to support the store’s losses – because of John Creuzot’s adoption of the George Soros agenda. Shop in a safer place outside Dallas County. Cut off the cities’ financial oxygen, sales tax, and tell every Dallas County retailer why you left.
WFAA is now reporting that the policy has been rescinded.
Don’t confuse them with the facts. They want to believe the nonsense they spread.