This Texas Facility for Dangerous Sex Offenders is Tucked Away in Littlefield

Texas is home to over 100 prisons across the state, to house convicted criminals until they’ve served their sentences. However, some offenders are sent to a facility even after completing their prison terms.

Tucked away in the fields on the outskirts of Littlefield, Texas, is a facility where some of the most dangerous sex offenders are sent. Once a private prison, it was converted into a center for these high-risk individuals.

What Is the Texas Civil Commitment Center?

The Texas Civil Commitment Center (TCCC) is a treatment-focused facility where sexually violent predators are sent for civil commitment after serving their sentences. They are sent here because the state still considers them sexually violent predators.

What is a Sexually Violent Predator?

The Texas Health and Safety Code defines a sexually violent predator as an offender who suffers from a behavioral abnormality that makes the person likely to commit future acts of sexual violence.

Read More: Potter County Has the Highest Amount of Sex Offenders in Texas

 Who is Sent to the Texas Civil Commitment Center?

• Persons who have completed criminal sentences for sex offenses
• A court has found them likely to reoffend
• Those civilly committed indefinitely until a judge deems they are no longer dangerous.

How the TCCC Treatment Tiers Work

This facility has a 4-tiered system for rehabilitation.

The philosophy of treatment is that services will address multiple areas of an individual’s functioning in order to achieve a balanced lifestyle that is incompatible with sexual offending.

The 4 Tiers include:

• Tier One - Responsibility
• Tier Two - Awareness and Discovery
• Tier Three - Healthy Relationships and Empathy
• Tier Four - Preparation for Community Reintegration

Read more about the 4 tiers of the program here.

Read More: Texas Declares First Female Sexually Violent Predator

How Many Offenders Are Housed at TCCC?

According to the TCCC as of 2024, 481 persons are housed in this facility.

However, the facility has received widespread criticism. According to a video on TikTok, it's still a prison, with razor wire and cells. It claims that those in the facility are called inmates. The video also states that since opening in 2015, fewer than 10 men have been released.

However, the 2024 Texas Civil Commitment Office Biennial Report states that 82 persons were released from the facility between 2022 and 2024.

Criticism of the Texas Civil Commitment Center

Despite its focus on treatment, the TCCC receives ongoing criticism. Many advocacy groups like NARSOL argue that this isn't rehabilitation and have labeled this facility as a "prison hell-hole."