Even as Texas celebrates the good news of its growing statewide population, there is one population segment that is shrinking, and that is also good news. The number of people incarcerated in Texas has dropped by more than 15,000 over the past decade. Last year alone, the number fell by 4,000 to about 140,000 prisoners, according to a report from the Legislative Budget Board. And because of those developments, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced last week that it will close two prisons: the Garza East Unit in Beeville and the Jester I Unit in Sugar Land.

TDCJ executive director Bryan Collier said fewer people are locked up because of the success of diversion, treatment and education programs, as well as a lower rates of recidivism. Statewide, the crime rate has fallen every year since 2009, from 1.1 million offenses to 796,924 in 2018. This is all good news. Fewer Texans are committing crime, fewer of those who do are becoming repeat offenders, and more of them are getting the resources they need to change the trajectory of their lives.

It’s also good news for the TDCJ. Since both facilities are near other TDCJ units, employees at those units will be reassigned without the need to relocate, said TDCJ spokesman Jeremy Desel. The closures will save the agency $20 million per year, which Desel said will be used for overtime pay for correctional officers, among other things. In recent years, the agency has struggled to maintain staffing levels, leading to safety concerns. When prisons are overcrowded or understaffed, they are more dangerous both for inmates and employees.

We would caution, along with Doug Smith of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, that TDCJ make sure the alternatives to incarceration like diversion and parole be administered with prudence. Prison populations should shrink as crime shrinks and inmates make good candidates for parole, not when the state needs to save money or for political reasons that have nothing to do with reducing crime. Dallas, of course, has just experienced its most deadly year in a decade, so it’s crucial that the in Texas’ prison population be driven by solid policing, effective correctional programs, and responsible choices.

Nationwide, the prison population fell to a nine-year low last year. As the entire nation continues to address mass incarceration, we’re proud that Texas is also working through this issue.