Prisoner Safety Measures Address At-Risk Inmates
The Sandra Bland Act, passed by the 85th Texas Legislature, calls for a multitude of changes that are affecting and will affect Texas county jail operations and Minimum Jail Standards including education requirements, installation of specific equipment, and inmate access to health and mental health professionals.
Throughout the last several years, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (Commission) and Texas counties have been working diligently to comply with the new mandates including the adoption of rules and procedures and completion of required training.
To view the statute and the bill analysis in full, go to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/, click on (85)R, and key in S.B. 1849.
One important element of the Sandra Bland Act includes a section on the “Safety of Prisoners.” The statute requires counties to:
- give prisoners the ability to access a mental health professional at the jail through a telemental health service 24 hours a day;
- give prisoners the ability to access a health professional at the jail or through a telehealth service 24 hours a day, or if a health professional is unavailable at the jail or through a telehealth service, provide for a prisoner to be transported to access a health professional; and
- install automated electronic sensors or cameras to ensure accurate and timely in-person checks of cells or groups of cells confining at-risk individuals. The Legislature created an account titled the Prisoner Safety Fund, and counties that operate a jail that is 96 beds or less may apply for grants to assist in paying for the capital improvement upgrades, such as electronic sensors and possibly cameras.
The Commission has “been provided direction from the authors” that any funds that are left over after fulfilling the installation of sensors or cameras may be used to assist counties (96 beds or less) with the equipment for the other two mandates, but not the ongoing operational cost, reported Brandon Wood, executive director of the Commission.
The deadline for the Commission to adopt rules and procedures regarding these new requirements was Sept. 1, 2018. The county must comply with these new requirements by Sept. 1, 2020.
The Commission adopted rules §273.2(13) and (14) and §275.1, effective Aug. 26, 2018, which implement these components of the Sandra Bland Act as follows:
- (13) provide procedures that shall give prisoners the ability to access a mental health professional at the jail through a telemental health service 24 hours a day and approved by the Commission by Aug. 31, 2020;
- (14) provide procedures that shall give prisoners the ability to access a health professional at the jail or through a telehealth service 24 hours a day or, if a health professional is unavailable at the jail or through a telehealth service, provide for a prisoner to be transported to access a health professional and approved by the Commission by Aug. 31, 2020.