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| The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice will meet to hear invited and |
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| public testimony on the following interim charges: |
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| Study and make recommendations related to municipal jails and other |
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| detention facilities that operate without state agency oversight. Identify |
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| the number of such facilities and the population detained, as well as |
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| best practices for municipal jails. Make recommendations to improve |
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| services and consider options for oversight of facilities by the Texas |
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| Commission on Jail Standards. |
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| Study and make recommendations to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of |
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| testing done in Texas forensic laboratories, including DNA and |
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| blood/alcohol testing. Assess and make recommendations for improving the |
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| capacity of Texas criminal laboratories to process evidence, identify ways |
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| to reduce the backlog of DNA evidence processing, identify ways to |
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| encourage qualified applicants for crime lab jobs, ensure adequate |
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| training for new crime lab technicians, ensure the availability of |
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| efficient crime lab processing to all regions of the state, and determine |
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| the impact of additional collection requirements on the capacity of Texas |
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| crime labs to process evidence. Consider the costs and benefits of |
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| creating a statewide crime lab. |
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