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The Criminal Justice Center was established by the Texas legislature in 1963 when House Resolution 469 was passed. This resolution called for Sam Houston State University to work in collaboration with the Texas Department of Corrections to establish a program of excellence with four objectives:

• Establish degree programs for individuals seeking careers in criminal justice;
• Provide continuing education programs for professionals already employed in the field of criminal justice;
• conduct research on the problems of crime and the administration of justice; and
• provide technical assistance to criminal justice agencies.

The Survey Research Program (SRP) helps to fulfill the third of these objectives by reporting information on public opinions regarding criminal justice and related issues. The first Texas Crime Poll was completed in 1977 and has been repeated annually since that date. Prior to 1995, the data were gathered through a statewide mail survey. In 1995, SRP conducted a nationwide telephone survey at which time Texas was oversampled as a means of comparing how, if at all, Texans differ from the rest of the nation on crime and criminal justice issues.  The 1996 survey was also a nationwide telephone survey focusing on people's perceptions of crime causation.  All surveys conducted since 1995 have been telephone surveys.

The general purpose of the surveys conducted by SRP is to provide legislators, public officials, and citizens with a reliable source of information about citizens' opinions and attitudes concerning crime and criminal justice-related topics.