Nikki Pressley is the Texas State Director and Chief of Staff for Right On Crime with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Her work focuses on Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice policy.
Nikki is a native Dentonite, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of North Texas. Outside of work Nikki enjoys running, live music, and Tex-Mex.
Originally published in the Dallas Morning News. New legislation stiffens penalties and provides for victims. A recent police effort underscored a disturbing but resolvable truth: Human trafficking doesn’t just happen in faraway places — it happens in our own backyard, and, too often, it targets our children. Through a coordinated effort by the U.S. Marshals...
Originally published in the Houston Chronicle. In the national debate over bail policy, Texas has refused to gamble with public safety. Other jurisdictions embraced blanket cashless bail policies that turned courthouses into revolving doors and allowed repeat criminals and violent offenders to walk free. But long before recent headlines, Texas began charting a different course. With...
The latest HPD scandal underscores a national problem. Commit a crime, get caught and go to jail — directly to jail. It’s the justice lesson we learned growing up, but it’s far from reality in cities across the nation, where clearance rates are abominably low. News out of Houston is compounding the issue of unsolved crimes after the Houston...
Incarceration devastates thousands of Texans every year with consequences rippling through an individual’s entire family, as a mother of three recently testified before the Texas House Corrections Committee. “Once you lose your kids, it’s hard to find anything else to fight for,” said Maggie Luna, a formerly incarcerated woman who spoke in favor of legislation that would...
Last month, off-duty New Orleans Detective Everett Briscoe and his friend. Dyrin “DJ” Riculfy, were shot and killed during an aggravated robbery in Houston. The tragedy surrounding their slayings was only aggravated by the news that their suspected killers had been walking free on a combined six felony bonds, including cash-free bonds, a $40,000 bond for...
The line from the classic American songbook “nice work if you can get it and you can get it if you try” has never been truer. As this nation emerges from the pandemic and states pare back COVID-19 restrictions, there are now a record 8.1 million jobs waiting to be filled. However, old criminal records...
Texans believe in second chances. That goes for families, too—even to parents whose past mistakes led to the involuntary termination of their parental rights. And a bill before the Texas House could give them their rights back and restore their families, if they turn their lives around and live up to their obligations. House Bill...
A recent report highlighted the desperate need for more foster families in rural communities west of San Antonio. Historically, the Department of Family and Protective Services, or DFPS, has struggled to recruit in rural areas — a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These rural communities surrounding Bexar County are a part of Region 8b,...
This month we celebrate the 155th anniversary of the surrender of Robert E. Lee to General Grant at the Appomattox Court House—marking the effective end of the Civil War. Over half a million Americans lost their lives in the struggle to fulfill our country’s founding principle that all men are created equal. While the human toll is a...
A recent report from Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth stating that six cases of suspected severe child abuse came through the hospital last week has led to speculation that stress from the COVID-19 outbreak is fueling a spike in incidents of abuse. While it is critical for communities to remain vigilant for signs that...
A recent article published by the Austin American-Statesman reported that 678 foster children did not have a home for two or more nights in 2019, leaving children to sleep in state offices or hotels. This number reflects a 49% increase since 2018, and can be attributed to the state’s struggle to recruit foster families, along with the...