AUSTIN – A nationally acclaimed program that has helped even the hardest-core addicts to sober up and stop committing crimes is vulnerable to state budget cuts.

A staggering 70 percent of the 72,000 offenders freed from Texas Department of Criminal Justice lockups last year were chemically dependent. And without treatment, they’re potentially a menace – to property and, in some instances, lives.

Many criminologists and others in the field say that groundbreaking work on drug and alcohol counseling and community supervision has proved so effective that it has prevented another Texas prison-building boom. But they fear that could change if lawmakers cut diversion programs as they tackle a projected $18 billion budget shortfall.

“We’ve saved money, kept the public safe, and we’re not getting the state in such a situation where they’re having to just open the doors of the prison and start pushing people out,” said Teresa May-Williams, assistant chief of probation in Dallas County, which has been a leader of Texas’ big push to treat nonviolent offenders’ addictions.

But the state’s incarceration rate would be “going straight up again – and it would be fast” if cuts were made, she said.

The diversion programs’ uncertain future demonstrates a potentially recurring problem: Cuts that lawmakers make now to prevention efforts – whether aimed at disease, child abuse, high school dropouts or ex-cons’ relapses into drug abuse – could cause long-term woes that cost more to address. The cuts also could cancel lively experiments praised by criminal justice experts around the country.

Texas’ offender population has decreased slightly since 2007, when the Legislature began investing more money in treatment, diversion and lower caseloads for local probation officers. State analysts project it to stay essentially flat at nearly 155,000 adults through 2015.

“It is reasonable to conclude those actions are largely responsible for the decline,” said Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the state criminal justice department.

Lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry have ordered all state agencies to identify 10 percent in spending cuts over the next two years, preparations for tackling the budget gap next year. While the department has a few more weeks to fine-tune its cuts list and isn’t tipping its hand, backers of the treatment and diversion initiatives fear the worst.

They emphasize that community monitoring and treatment account for only a dime of every corrections dollar the state spends, with 80 cents still devoted to running prisons. And yet even deluxe treatment efforts cost less than one-third of what it takes to house a prison inmate, which is nearly $50 a day.

“Mr. Cottingham, I’m not God,” visiting Judge Robert Francis bellowed to a packed courtroom in Dallas late last month. “If we’re going to move forward, I’ve got to know you’re being honest with me.”

Lafamette Cottingham, summoned to the front of the courtroom from one of eight “sanction chairs,” bowed his head and began to sob. The young man, who’d failed a spot drug test, then confessed he used his second paycheck from a new job to get high.

Francis, who prowls the room like Maury Povich without a microphone, waved him back to his seat. An hour or so later, the judge ordered the man to spend six days in the county jail, though he allowed Cottingham to serve it on weekends so he could keep his job.

The retired GOP district judge is the unrivaled star of Dallas County’s “4C Court.” Life’s grittiest matters are openly aired in the Community Corrections Continuum of Care Court three days a week.

“No reality show can hold a candle to ours,” he said.

Francis and a staff of 22 drug counselors, case managers, snooping probation officers, clerks, lawyers and bailiffs operate a 1 ½-year-old state-financed specialty court. It tries to keep strongly addicted felons coming out of prison or state jails under intensive individual and group therapy – and 24/7 scrutiny.

No Texas judge has ever had a full docket of “re-entry” probationers who are trying to shake addictions. But a $2.6 million state grant gives Francis unprecedented resources to help keep them on the straight and narrow.

The court gives offenders temporary housing if needed. It also insists they avoid bad family situations, helps them find jobs, and subjects them to surprise visits and drug tests.

Every morning, even on weekends, participants have to call in to see if they are part of a group ordered to go to the George Allen Courthouse that day to undergo urinalysis.

Liza Estrada, 35, a recovering methamphetamine addict, said she got tripped up by two or three beers she drank the evening after her group had been drug-tested. Estrada said she was stunned the next morning, when the group was summoned for a second consecutive day of urinalysis. She tested positive and within days, she was sitting in agony on a sanction chair.

“It’s humiliating – I was bawling,” recounted Estrada, who graduated from the program and now helps her brother run a construction business.

Francis does not apologize.

“I’m sneaky, that’s my job,” he said. “I know they’re sneaky, too.”

Though very different in politics and style, Reps. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, and Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, may be the biggest fans of diversion efforts such as the 4C Court.

Madden, a West Point graduate who served in Vietnam, is an engineer and small-business owner. He headed the House Corrections Committee in 2007, when the state pivoted in a new direction, away from building more prisons.

It has 112. And three years ago, it trailed only three Deep South states – Louisiana , Mississippi and Georgia – in its incarceration rate, locking up one of every 71 adults.

Madden said that being tough on crime doesn’t require a one-cell-fits-all approach, which wastes money.

“The reason we’re successful is that we’re treating everybody as an individual and working on their individual problems instead of a mass-produced type effort,” he said.

McReynolds, a petroleum land man with a history doctorate and the impassioned piety of a Church of Christ deacon, gushes over the treatment pilots.

“They redeem lives and they save taxpayers’ money and promote public safety,” he said.

Both said the Legislature avoided creating about 17,000 more prison beds – construction alone would have exceeded a half-billion dollars – by boosting treatment and community supervision efforts. Lawmakers approved $162 million more for such programs four years ago; and last year, they added another $46 million.

Among other things, lawmakers decided to fix the Substance Abuse Felony Punishment program, a drug treatment effort for felons better known as “Safe-P.” It needed “after care,” or closer supervision and prolonged treatment after release, McReynolds said.

In Dallas, Francis’ court provides plenty.

Offenders must attend 12-step recovery groups near their homes three times a week, and collect signatures to verify they were there. They also must come to the courthouse to see a probation officer and a drug counselor and to attend group therapy. Francis said it’s all governed by a nationally recognized set of treatment principles that attack both addiction and criminal thinking.

In just more than 18 months of operation, 4C Court has revoked probation for only 7 percent of about 360 participants. Statewide, 27 percent of released inmates return to prison within three years, said May-Williams of the local probation department. She said the 7 percent probably won’t increase much because “the biggest risk is in the first year.”

Tony Hinshaw is among the sober 93 percent.

The Dallas man lost everything to meth and cocaine in a five-year downward spiral that netted him seven felony convictions for property crimes and drug sales. Hinshaw, 42, said he needed the in-prison component of Safe-P, which lasts six months.

Therapy changed his thinking, Hinshaw said, and when he got out, fear of Francis did the rest.

Several graduates recall being gratified by the amount of personal attention that Francis and his staff gave them, an experience they weren’t used to in the criminal justice system. But when Francis decides to lower the boom on an offender who repeatedly misses appointments and tests positive, he summons all participants to a formal courtroom hearing to watch. The sentences are heavy – 10, 25, even 40 years.

“That’s a real eye-opener,” said Hinshaw, now attending Eastfield Community College with hopes of becoming a drug counselor. “It’s a wake-up call.”

In May, the criminal justice department largely escaped a preliminary round of state budget cuts. But it, like other state agencies, must identify a possible trim of 10 percent. For the criminal justice department, that’s more than a half-billion dollars.

Spokeswoman Lyons, asked if diversion efforts will be among department programs potentially affected, didn’t respond directly.

“At this magnitude, all core agency functions would be impacted,” Lyons said. She declined to be more specific but said the department would make the fallout of any proposed cuts clear to state leaders. Madden and McReynolds said they’re confident the diversion efforts will be spared, if not by department leaders now then by state leaders in spring, when final decisions are made.

In Texas’ 2003 budget crisis, though, lawmakers whacked about $280 million – or about 6 percent – from the department’s two-year budget. They eliminated more than 1,200 positions and cut deeply into most rehabilitation programs.

“They cut everything that changed people’s lives,” recalled Ana Yanez-Correa of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, which advocates for less reliance on incarceration. “We can’t afford to go back.”

By PETE YOST • Associated Press • June 10, 2010

WASHINGTON — Law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 2,200 people in a 22-month investigation targeting Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the United States, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The probe, called Project Deliverance, focused on the transportation networks that
carry methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana into the United States, with return trips of drug proceeds and weapons.

Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference the initiative struck a significant blow against the cartels, but called it “just one battle in what is an ongoing war.”

Over 400 of the more than 2,200 arrests were made Wednesday.

The Justice Department says the nearly-two-year probe has led to the seizure of $154 million in currency, over 1,200 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.5 tons of cocaine, over 1,400 pounds of heroin and 69 tons of marijuana.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement worked on the effort with state and local law enforcement agencies.

Among those arrested in recent days was Carlos Ramon Castro-Rocha, believed by law enforcement agencies to be among the leaders of organizations importing narcotics to the U.S.

In Mexico, Ramon Pequeno, head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico’s federal
police, said that U.S.-Mexico cooperation has been key in arresting traffickers.

People like Carlos Ramon Castro-Rocha “keep a low profile, manage significant
amounts of drugs and money, are little known and don’t belong to any traditional drug trafficking organization, which makes it difficult to identify and capture them,”
Pequeno said. “It is at this stage that the exchange of information and the
collaboration with authorities from other countries is heightened.”

At the news conference in Washington, Michele Leonhart, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, described the law enforcement strategy as an effort to cut off and shut down the supply of drugs headed northward and the flow of drug profits and guns southward into Mexico.

Violent drug distribution networks in the Southwest pose a threat to U.S. border
security, said assistant FBI director Kevin Perkins of the bureau’s criminal investigative division.

We’re not safe from rising crime rates

Austin still ranks among the safest big cities in the nation. That is good news. But it’s time to examine why Austin’s crime rate is increasing in certain categories while crime rates in other cities are falling and what can be done to get that under control.

In Austin, the number of homicides fell slightly, from 23 in 2008 to 22 in 2009, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Statistics, compiled from Austin Police Department data. But property crimes rose 7 percent over that period, with incidences of larceny rising 10 percent and violent crime up 2.3 percent (driven mainly by an increase in robberies, which rose 6.2 percent).

Aside from the obvious trends — population growth, an economic downturn and budget reductions at the Police Department — there are the not-so-visible factors that are contributing to Austin’s rising crime rates. The Police Department lacks the 21st-century technological tools that assist officers in fighting and solving crimes. But even the best tools and strategies can hinder progress in bringing down the crime rate if, as Police Chief Art Acevedo asserts, the court system is too lenient on repeat offenders who commit violent crimes.

As an example, Acevedo cited the case of Maurice York, who received deferred adjudication from Travis County courts for a burglary and aggravated robbery. While on probation, York, 22, went on to commit more than 20 robberies in Austin. Hindsight is 20-20, and York now is serving a 50-year sentence.

We agree with Acevedo that his department must put a greater emphasis on helping courts identify those offenders who repeatedly commit violent and dangerous crimes and those who don’t. But the courts must do their part with treatment and punishment that reflect those differences. Getting offenders who repeatedly commit dangerous acts off the streets is part of curbing crime rates.

As for technology, Austin and other area police departments will get a big boost on that front with the start up of the Austin Regional Intelligence Center, which goes online this fall.

The center’s computerized database would allow Austin police to share information about crime trends, suspects and potential terrorist activity with several law enforcement agencies in Williamson, Travis and Hays counties. The ability for one police department to track criminals too often stops at a city’s border because departments lack the technology to share information with departments outside their jurisdictions. Because of such limitations, a criminal can escape justice simply by fleeing to another city. (The Austin City Council was wise to adopt oversight measures to address privacy concerns raised by the Texas ACLU.)

With the start-up of the regional intelligence center, those loopholes will close, and police will be able to make arrests more efficiently. Eventually the system could be used to identify emerging crime trends, move resources to hot spots and develop tactics to address emerging threats, Acevedo said.

Budget cuts — about $13 million over the past two years — have slowed the hiring of Austin officers, so Acevedo is adding security cameras in strategic locations across the city to catch criminal activity. Even when an officer is not around, a camera will be on patrol. That, too, is important in curbing crime rates.

As a community, Austin and Central Texas residents also must do their parts in curbing crime. They can do so by connecting with their neighborhood associations and crime watch groups. We’re fortunate to live in a big city that is safe by most indicators. We should not be complacent, given increasing crime rates. If we work together, we can make Austin safer.

The latest crime statistics released by the FBI are something of a mixed bag for Austin.

Although Austin still ranks among the safest big cities in the country, crime in the area increased in some categories, bucking a national trend of dramatic drops in 2009.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Statistics, compiled with data provided by the Austin Police Department, property crime rose 7 percent from 2008 to 2009 , with instances of larceny increasing 10 percent . Violent crime saw a 2 percent uptick. The number of homicides stayed about the same, from 23 in 2008 to 22 in 2009 .

“It is a cause for concern,” said Police Chief Art Acevedo , who attributed the increases partially to Austin’s continued population growth. “We want to keep Austin one of the safest cities in the United States, and we cannot be in denial about our growth.”

Nationally, violent crime declined 5.5 percent from coast to coast , with robberies dropping about 8 percent and homicides down 7 percent . Property crime decreased about 5 percent . The Associated Press reported that the national declines contradict a historic trend of increased crime rates being traditionally associated with hard times.

“I would think with the economic times, you’re going to have property crimes and larceny and some things like that increase,” said Richard Hill, president of the Greater Austin Crime Commission. “I am surprised that we are bucking the nationwide trend.”

Acevedo said one reason for the increases could be that his department is more diligent in reporting statistics to the FBI than other major cities.

“Quite frankly, we do our best to report crime. I’m not sure every city follows the (Uniform Crime Reporting) guidelines,” he said. “We follow them because we don’t want to give people a false sense of security.”

Data compiled by the Austin police gives an even more detailed look at crime in the city.

Guns were used in 54 percent of homicides , and the victim knew the offender in 45 percent of the cases . In 88 percent of rape cases — which declined about 3 percent from 2008 — the victim knew the assailant.

Acevedo said he hopes new technology, including new downtown cameras and an information sharing center, will help the department “work smarter.” He said he also would like to see harsher punishments on the most egregious offenders.

Still, the city has one of the lowest crime rates of cities with populations above 100,000 , according to FBI statistics. The Associated Press said the city ranked as one of the four safest.

“Austin has a very active community. That just bodes well for keeping our city safe,” Hill said. “We need to stay involved with our efforts financially and our resources of time and energy, and that will all help APD perform their duties.”

A list of the 50 largest local jail jurisdictions, including the number of inmates held by each on the last weekday in June of 2008 and 2009.

Jurisdiction                             State          2008             2009

1 Los Angeles County             CA           19,533          19,869

2 New York City                      NY          13,804          13,130

3 Harris County                     TX            10,063          11,360

9 Dallas County                     TX              6,252             6,222

24 Tarrant County                TX              3,574            3,151

41 Travis County                   TX            2,533             2,459

GALVESTON — A woman out for a morning stroll on Galveston’s East Beach stumbled onto a washed-up bag with 16 bricks of cocaine worth an estimated $2.1 million, police said Tuesday.

The woman, whose name was not in the police report, was walking on the beach near the Beachtown subdivision when she saw a backpack rolling in the surf about 11 a.m. on May 22, Galveston police spokesman Jeff Heyse said.

She used her cell phone to call police, who discovered a black bag containing the cocaine bricks that weighed a total of 37 pounds 2 ounces. Each brick was marked with bar codes and wrapped in a rubber sheet, a large balloon and another plastic layer, Heyse said.

“There were barnacles growing on the bag so you know it was probably in the water a long time,” he said. He said the bricks were so wrapped so well that only four of the bricks had been contaminated by seawater.

The bag contained the first large quantity of drugs washed up on Galveston beaches in at least a decade Heyse said.

No one knows how or where the drugs got in the water, but typically they are thrown overboard when law enforcement attempts to board a smuggler’s vessel, he said.

Occasionally drugs wash ashore and the police keep quiet about it in hopes of finding the owner, Heyse said. “Unfortunately there was nothing in the bag that would lead them anywhere,” he said.

Although the amount found was large, it amounts to a fraction of the cocaine brought into the United States, Heyse said. Heyse recalled an entire ship loaded with cocaine being seized several years ago.

Dealers typically dilute the cocaine with baby formula or some other odorless, flavorless material, he said.

The 37 pounds would probably have been turned into 100 pounds of street product, Heyse said, or processed into highly addictive crack cocaine in home laboratories.

Police patrols up during holiday

Law enforcement agencies will be increasing enforcement of laws regarding driving and boating while intoxicated, seat belts and speeding over the Memorial Day weekend.

The Department of Public Safety will have every available trooper patrolling highways to look for violators from 6 p.m. today to midnight Monday, spokeswoman Tela Mange said.

Austin police will increase patrols on roads and on Lake Austin from 2 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday, officials said.

Police also said personal watercraft will be banned on Lake Austin beginning at sunset today and ending at sunrise Tuesday.

“The annual ban on personal watercraft is necessary to ensure the safety of the large number of people that make use of the lake and parks over the Memorial Day holiday weekend,” police said in a statement.

The War at Home

by Bobby Cervantes

More than 150,000 Texans have returned from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, many having spent months or years fueled by adrenaline and fear, inundated with death and grief. Back home, the struggle to cope with such traumas can erupt into addiction and crime.

To deal with those harsh realities, the Legislature last year authorized counties to create “deferred prosecution programs” for returning veterans who can prove that their delinquency can be traced to their combat exposure. The courts operate somewhat like the state’s drug courts, prioritizing treatment or counseling over punishment for soldiers accused of crimes, mostly involving drug abuse and violent outbursts.

But the development of such efforts, still in their infancy, faces serious hurdles, both in their financing and in debates over how — and even if — they should operate. In Bexar County, District Attorney Susan Reed in January voiced strong opposition to a court that would bypass adjudication, essentially diverting the defendants to treatment without prosecuting and sentencing them first.

Texas has long been a home base for the United States military, housing some 1.7 million veterans, nine veterans state cemeteries and 18 active military installations stretching from San Antonio to Abilene. Still, for decades, the state has not had to deal with a large contingent of shell-shocked veterans returning from combat. The most consequential conflicts since Vietnam have changed that — but with lawmakers in Austin facing an estimated $18 billion budget shortfall in the coming legislative session, cash-strapped counties are facing inevitable questions about the courts’ funding and operations.

“This war is very different”

Last year’s legislation was led by state Sens. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston; Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio; and state Rep. Allan Vaught, D-Dallas, who received a Purple Heart after a year in Iraq. The Texas Veterans Commission estimates 10 counties — Bexar, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fannin, Harris, Hidalgo, Orange, Tarrant and Travis — either have a veteran court system in place or are considering one. Many have high populations of veterans. Bexar County, for instance, is home to about 11,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Iraq and Afghanistan — notably the repeat tours of duty many soldiers have endured since the 2003 surge in Iraq — pose new challenges for Texas. Such long engagements are directly connected to the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder, Van de Putte says. And almost half of the returning forces are from the Guard and reserves, normally part-time soldiers who are not as closely associated with military bases on the home front, where they might get more support.

“This war is very different from other wars that have been fought,” Van de Putte says.

That loose connection to military support systems makes some veterans, who return to work or school, ”hyper-agitated and irritable and [more likely to] abuse drug and alcohol,” she says. “When they went to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, they were fine. When they came home, they weren’t fine.”

A DA’s concerns

The new veterans courts are maintained directly by the counties in which they operate, allowing local law enforcement officials and judges to agree on the courts’ specific requirements, including which veterans and crimes will be heard.

In Bexar County, where plans for a court are being considered but not yet implemented, Reed opposes what Van de Putte calls “pre-trial treatment,” arguing that treatment services should be prescribed only after a court has handed down a conviction and a sentence. Van de Putte, adamant that the courts do not amount to a get-out-of-jail-free card, counters that getting soldiers connected with psychologists and other mental health services will help far more and cost far less than prison time. And the courts require drug-testing and strict supervision, she points out.

The disagreement has put Bexar County at the center of the statewide debate, as it moves to consider starting a court to serve the thousands of veterans who live in the San Antonio area. Under the current proposal, eligibility for alternative sentencing would require a veteran to show a medical diagnosis of mental illness, brain injury or other disorder connected to combat service. Local prosecutors would make the calls on each case. If chosen to participate in the court, the veteran would agree to pay all necessary treatment costs and to undergo an intense plan that requires drug and alcohol testing twice a week, Van de Putte says. If the veteran successfully completes that regimen, mention of the offense would be expunged from his or her record.

Deciding which offenses the courts will hear also remains under discussion in Bexar County, Van de Putte says. Reed wants to ensure the courts do not take on offenses that are too serious. All counties with operating veterans courts stop short of hearing more serious “3g offenses,” felonies so named for their inclusion in Section 3(g) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which include murder, kidnapping or indecency with a child.

Van de Putte says she hopes Reed will overcome her initial hesitation and support the proposal, adding that if a court program could work in the notoriously tough-on-crime Harris County, “we should make it work in Bexar.”

In Harris County, defendants must show that they were honorably discharged from the military or are on active duty or in the Reserves. The veteran has to submit to clinical evaluation, must be a resident of Harris County or an adjacent county and must have been charged with a type of offense the court has agreed to hear.

Finding the money

Financing for veterans courts is scattered and varied, as counties have to cobble together dollars to keep their operations going.

Mary Covington, a special programs manager in Houston, helped start the Harris County veterans court from scratch last November. With no state funds available, county officials initially relied on federal grants that matched the services the county court meant to offer. To pay the veterans’ attorneys’ fees, the county sought state money earmarked for indigent defense.

Nearly six months later, the Harris County’s veterans court is in the process of securing grants from Gov. Rick Perry’s office and the Texas Veterans Commission. The county’s program, the first in the state, has since added permanent staff positions and more treatment programs, Covington says.

Expanding and financing such courts on a more permanent basis might require action at the Capitol — and that could prove difficult, given the niche nature of program and gaping holes expected in the next state budget.

Getting lawmakers to fork over the funds could be made even more difficult by the fact that the still-developing program has yet to show measureable results. Covington says the Harris County court has one docket, one judge hearing those cases and a current limit of 20 veterans. “We don’t expect to have any graduates before the end of the year or early next year,” she says.

from www.dallasnews.com:

AUSTIN – A steep surcharge program for drunken driving and other driving violations is clogging state courts and causing the dismissal rate for DWI cases to skyrocket, a former state judge told the Texas Public Safety Commission on Monday.

David Hodges, who served as a state district judge based in McLennan County, told the panel that the Texas Driver Responsibility Program has had a “devastating” effect on the Texas court system, and judges across the state are reporting at least two years of pending driving-while-intoxicated cases as more defendants seek trials.

“Our criminal justice system is supposed to be about changing behavior and making our streets safer, but there is no evidence that this program is making our streets safer,” said Hodges, now judicial liaison for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, which provides training and support for judges.

Not only are more DWI cases being dismissed, but others are resulting in lesser charges, such as reckless driving, to help reduce the huge backlog, he noted.

“There is credible research to show that this program has actually created a new class of criminals that we’re having to deal with,” said Hodges, citing the estimated 1.2 million drivers who have not paid the surcharges under the program – most of whom have lost their licenses as a result.

Those 1.2 million Texans – about two-thirds of the drivers who have been slapped with surcharges – now owe the state more than $1 billion that they have either refused or been unable to pay.

The Public Safety Commission convened a public hearing Monday to gauge public opinion on a proposal that would reduce charges for indigent drivers, those making less than $14,000 a year. Many of those testifying said the change would still leave many unable to afford the surcharges.

The original idea behind the program, which took effect in late 2004, was to assess large additional fines for certain violations to discourage those types of offenses and raise money for highway projects and trauma care.

But the program never worked as the Legislature intended. No money has gone to highways, and trauma centers have received only a fraction of what was intended.

DWI offenses carry the biggest surcharges – $1,000 a year for three years on the first conviction and $2,000 a year in cases where the blood alcohol content is twice the legal limit.

Critics of the program said many of those affected by the surcharges are first-time offenders, students, single parents and low-income residents faced with the choice of complying with the law or paying for necessities such as food, rent, car repairs and medical bills.

Various state efforts – including hiring of a collection agency and allowing installment payments – have only marginally improved compliance. Many lawmakers have concluded that a majority of drivers slapped with a surcharge will never pay.

Legislators authorized the commission in 2007 to implement a partial amnesty and incentive plan to boost payments, but it has taken no steps in that direction yet.

Hodges asked the panel to consider a change in the program that would allow state judges to waive part of the DWI surcharge as an incentive to get defendants into treatment programs.

Rick Antonisse, executive director of the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, urged commissioners to keep the program intact. He argued that trauma centers are dependent on the funds they do receive through the surcharges. He said the Driver Responsibility Program provides 83 percent of uncompensated funding for trauma care centers – about $17.1 million in North Texas last year.

“Loss of this funding would shift more of the cost burden from those drivers whose offenses are frequently associated with serious injuries, as well as those driving without insurance, to paying patients and the taxpayers,” he told the commission.

Commissioners took no action. If any changes are to be made, approval of the indigent program would be first.

UPDATE: The criminal justice center and surrounding streets have been reopened to county employees only, officials say. An investigation is ongoing, and officials have not provided additional information on the person taken into custody.

UPDATE: The package has been cleared, and it was not a bomb, said Roger Wade, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. A bomb robot exited the courthouse about 12:40 p.m. and returned to command vehicle. A fire truck and ambulance also left the scene. Sheriff’s security officers are conducting a sweep the building before it is opened, Wade said.

UPDATE: Austin Police Department bomb squad personnel are using a robot to examine a suspicious package that triggered the evacuation of the nine-story Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center this morning, Travis County sheriff officials said.

The robot entered the building from the 11th Street entrance about 11:30 a.m.

“Right now, they are trying to make sure that it doesn’t blow up if it is a supicious package like that,” said Roger Wade, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

In recent weeks, command security of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, which handles security at the building, has been on the lookout for a man who was involved in an “emotionally charged case,” Wade said.

Wade would not provide details about the case — whether it was a civil or criminal case — or about the man, including his age.

Wade could not confirm where in the building the package was discovered.

The man from the earlier case was taken into custody shortly after the package was found, Wade said.

It’s unclear whether it was the same man who left the package.

The package was reported to courthouse security at 9:40 a.m., Wade said. Shortly after, the building was evacuated and the Austin Police Department bomb squad was alerted, he said.

Austin school district officials said that 41 seventh- and eighth-grade students from Fulmore Middle School were at the courthouse when the order to evacuate came.

The students were in Fulmore’s International Law and Humanities magnet program, said district spokeswoman Kathy Anthony. They went to the courthouse to participate in a mock trial at the invitation of County Court at-law Judge Nancy Hohengarten, a parent of one of the students, officials said.

After being evacuated, the students went to Pease Elementary School and had lunch. Anthony said that the students, who were accompanied by several chaperones, will return to the courthouse after the evacuation order is lifted to pick up their backpacks and other belongings.

The jail was not evacuated, Wade said. The jail, with its thick walls, should keep prisoners safe should a bomb explode, Wade said.

The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, a block away from the Thurman justice center, has not been evacuated, and several court hearings are ongoing.

Most of those evacuated from the Blackwell-Thurman center found cover from the rain in adjacent buildings or left the area. Several county employees said they were going to an early lunch.

The streets around the justice complex are closed.

Judge Charlie Baird said a jury was deliberating a sexual assault of a child case in his court when they were told to evacuate.

Baird told jurors to return to the courthouse at 1:30 p.m. He advised that anyone due in court this afternoon should show when the courthouse reopens. He said to monitor media reports for when the courthouse may reopen.

EARLIER: The nine-story Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center has been evacuated after a suspicious package has triggered a bomb scare there, police officials said.

A package was discovered inside the building shortly before 10:45 a.m., police said.

According to Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, who has received preliminary information, a man had been inside the pre-trial services offices and left behind a box. The man has been taken into custody, Hamilton said.

He said that the man reportedly made “some kind of weird comment.”

The building houses numerous county offices, including that of the district attorney, and state district courtrooms.