Jails

Sandra Bland Act

November 25, 2019 by County Progress

Prisoner Safety Measures Address At-Risk Inmates

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. HH

Time and Attention

November 18, 2019 by County Progress

Sheriffs Encourage Commissioners Court to Prioritize Jail Operations

Kelly Rowe learned a valuable lesson his first day on the job in the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department back in 1999.

“When I first walked into the old Lubbock County Jail, which was built in 1931, I made a lot of notes to self,” recalled Rowe. “One of those notes was to tour the jail before accepting my next job. I accepted this job, and then I toured the jail. I walked into the darkest dungeon I ever saw. It was linear, dark and dirty.”

Twenty years later, Rowe is sheriff of Lubbock County, a member of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, and the future 2021 president of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas. As sheriff, Rowe oversees a $101 million, 1,512-bed jail that opened in 2010, where inmates are under direct supervision 24 hours a day via a contemporary podular design.

The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department staff went to considerable lengths to communicate to the public and elected officials why a new jail was so critical for the safety of inmates, staff, and the overall community.

Jail Operations 101

In the 246 Texas counties that operate jails, the jail is both the county’s single largest budget item and its most significant liability.

Rowe and other Texas sheriffs strongly advocate that County Commissioners and Judges – those individuals who make decisions about jail funding and staffing issues – learn as much about their local jail operations as they can.

“I’m going to be blunt: The percentage of County Commissioners and Judges who have never toured their county’s jail will shock you,” said Waller County Sheriff R. Glenn Smith. “I would beg any newly elected Commissioner or County Judge to make that one of the first things on their to-do list. They should get familiar with what we’re doing.”

That recommendation is especially relevant given the large number of new County Commissioners and Judges who took office in 2019.

“They need to be educated about county jails, their operations, and their needs and requirements,” added longtime Robertson County Sheriff Gerald Yezak, immediate past president of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas. Earlier this year, the Robertson County Commissioners Court issued certificates of obligation to fund a new $18.7 million sheriff’s office and 92-bed jail.

Staff Safety

Given the diversity of county jails in Texas, it should come as no surprise that a small percentage of them do not comply with the Texas Minimum Jail Standards.

“I’m not making excuses, but it’s hard to stay in compliance with 2019 thinking when you’ve got a facility that was based on 1980s thinking,” Smith shared. Waller County’s existing 110-bed jail was built in 1986 and is shaped like a maze, which makes inmate oversight and overall operations even more difficult than in a linear jail.

In November 2017, Waller County voters approved $39.5 million for a new sheriff’s office, court building, and jail that will double inmate capacity and is expected to open next year utilizing a design that incorporates an elevated indirect supervision model (see “design evolution” below).

“Instead of a jailer sitting in the control room looking at a camera aimed at a steel door, or walking by and looking through a 4-by-8-inch window once every hour, we will have a much more open atmosphere regarding observation and safe interaction,” Smith described. “That’s a massive change from what we have now, and I think it’s going to be better all-around for both inmates and staff.”

Rowe noted that many newer design enhancements improve not only the well-being of inmates, but also that of jail employees.

“When we gave tours of our new facility, I would always remind the public that despite the introduction of natural light, this isn’t a hotel,” Rowe said. “But our staff – the people who are here a lot longer than the inmates are – finds it a much more pleasant working environment.”

The average length of stay for inmates in Texas county jails is between 13 and 24 days, according to, Rowe, while some corrections officers work in the same facility for years.

Retaining quality employees at the county jail requires paying them a meaningful wage and giving them resources to keep them safe. Yezak recently equipped all of his jailers with body cameras and microphones to help mitigate the number of false allegations made by inmates about how jailers treat them. While taxpayers might balk at the money being spent on designing, staffing, and maintaining jails, he argued that keeping employees and inmates safe is imperative.

“All it takes in this business is one lawsuit to set you back financially for decades,” Yezak said. “The cost of properly funding a county jail, jail staffing, and jail technology can be minute compared to the payout on one single lawsuit. Every dollar invested in the county jail is a dollar invested against a lawsuit.”

Design Evolution

Jail design and operations have come a long way in Texas, even though the oldest jail in continuous operation in the United States is located in San Saba County; this facility opened in 1884 with space for up to 10 inmates.

“In older jails with long corridors, corrections officers can only see what is directly in front of them, and they are exclusively reactive to situations that arise with inmates,” Rowe explained. “With direct supervision, officers become almost exclusively proactive, and we’ve seen a significant reduction in vandalism in our jail because now inmates are never out of the officers’ sight.”

Many other existing Texas county jails were built in the 1970s and earlier based on design elements that included low ceilings, bar fronts, lack of natural lighting, and no air conditioning. The linear design which Rowe first encountered in Lubbock is common, resulting in limited observation of inmates who in turn are left to their own devices.

While linear layouts still have a limited place in modern jail design, more effective design strategies increase observation and safety for jailers and inmates. They include:

Indirect supervision podular designs, in which jailers are positioned outside cells at a fixed station surrounded by housing units. The layout creates an intimidating “fish-bowl effect,” as jailers may feel watched by inmates.
Elevated indirect supervision wraps housing around elevated jailers. Supervision into the cells is excellent, and one-way glass precludes inmates from knowing when the station is staffed.
Direct supervision podular is, by far, the most effective, since jailers are located within the housing unit, Rowe said. This design strategy allows staff to interact with inmates and deter inmate misbehavior before it escalates.

Inmate Demographics

Many older jails were designed to accommodate an inmate population comprised of about 10 percent women, a statistic that held steady for decades. As that percentage increases, Texas jail architects recommend designing jails to accommodate a female population of 20 percent or more of capacity.

Of the 92 beds in the new Robertson County Jail opening in October 2020, 19 of them are designated for women, which accounts for about 21 percent of total available inmate capacity.

“When I first started working here at the Robertson County Sheriff’s office, it was a rare occurrence when we had a female inmate in jail,” Yezak observed. “When a woman would get arrested, generally she bonded out the next day. Now, I can’t tell you the last time we didn’t have female inmates.”

The death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old inmate who committed suicide in the Waller County jail in 2015 while in a holding cell, led to the passage of the state’s Sandra Bland Act, which mandates jails divert inmates with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment.

Before the law even took effect in 2017, Smith said Waller County transitioned to the electronic monitoring of inmates and installed more cameras. The new facility, currently under construction, will assist inmates with physical and mental health issues via telemental and telehealth services, which allow inmates to remotely access professional assistance via video visitation located in the housing units.

“Jails are the largest mental institutions in this country,” Smith stated. “An overwhelming percentage of people in jails have some kind of mental trauma going on. Just being in jail can cause mental stress. But I’m convinced the mental health of our inmates will be better in our new facility.”

Approximately 700 inmates in Texas county jails are awaiting acceptance into a state mental facility, according to Yezak, who accepts the duty to care for those inmates, even if by default.

“As county sheriffs, our responsibility is to house human life,” he emphasized. “We have the responsibility to keep inmates safe. It’s one of the biggest responsibilities there is in our society.”

That responsibility is what drives Yezak and his peers to encourage County Commissioners and Judges to make local jails a priority.

“Maybe we could assemble a panel of sheriffs with tenure and the Jail Commission and give a short presentation on jails at the County Judges and Commissioners conferences,” Yezak continued. “We are partners with the Judges and Commissioners in the success of county jail operations, and it works best for the people we serve when we all work together.” HH

Charles Goodman, AIA, CCHP, has been leading people since the early 1990s in the development of correctional projects for counties, states, the federal government and the Department of Defense. With nearly 30 years of experience as a justice architect, Goodman brings a wealth of design knowledge in virtually all areas of corrections. He has the unique qualifier of Certified Healthcare Professional, which provides an increased understanding of healthcare and mental healthcare needs in a correctional environment.

Flint Britton, Facilities Planner, RAS, began his 24 years of detention experience working for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. As a planner he routinely met with county officials and architects to discuss the county’s needs and recommend solutions, and he reviewed over 200 jail plans representing 70 counties for compliance with the Texas Jail and Texas Accessibility Standards. His responsibilities include performing studies, FNAs, programming, and the planning of sheriff’s offices and jails.

By Charles Goodman and Flint Britton

Robertson County Celebrates the Future at Groundbreaking for New Sheriff’s Office, Jail

August 1, 2019 by County Progress

Sponsored Content

Robertson County officials celebrated the conclusion of nearly a decade of discussion by breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art sheriff’s office and 92-bed jail in June.

“Today has been a long time coming,” Robertson County Sheriff Gerald Yezak told a crowd of law enforcement officials, first responders, local political figures and business representatives during the groundbreaking ceremony. “We went from an 1880 jail to a 1988 jail that was already outdated when it was built with a 1970s design. What we will get this next fall is a facility I will be immensely proud of for our county.”

The $18.8 million, 44,000-square-foot facility will sit on approximately 9 acres and was designed by Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects in Dallas. It is slated to open in October 2020. Fort Worth-based SEDALCO Construction Services will manage construction.

Located approximately 1 mile from the existing 53-bed jail in the county seat of Franklin, the new dual-purpose facility will be noteworthy for several reasons.

Most significantly, the jail is designed to maximize inmate observation, utilizing both an elevated staff position (ESP) on the mezzanine level and a ground-level staff position via the male housing observation desk. Most jails employ a stationary staff position on the ground; the ESP is more common in BSW designs than ground-level monitoring.

Robertson County officials opted for the enhanced security strategy of both options to allow for faster response times to inmate incidents. Specifically, both the ESP and floor jailer positions provide staff views into the male housing units, the indoor exercise/multipurpose space used by male and female inmates, and the booking area.

Additionally, the master control room offers views of the jail’s primary corridor and into the processing and booking area, allowing for enhanced observation of inmates and more efficient use of staff. The facility’s design also includes expandable service spaces and future housing areas, a second multipurpose room, a non-contact visitation area and video visitation booths, three cells located in the processing area for violent individuals, and multiple holding and detox cells for both males and females.

Throughout, building materials were chosen based on their durability and ability to reduce noise levels and reverb, thus decreasing stress levels and allowing inmates and jailers to better hear each other during day-to-day operations and over the intercom systems.

The new jail’s 92-inmate capacity includes 67 beds for male inmates and 19 for females in the general population, plus four swing cells to accommodate another six inmates of either gender. A pair of two-person cells are provided to address concerns raised by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) passed by the U.S. Congress to protect the rights of incarcerated individuals to be safe from sexual assault. Two negative-pressure cells are located close to the facility’s medical area and can be used for either male or female inmates. They also are used for inmate segregation on an as-needed basis.

As the physical and mental health of inmates becomes an increasing source of concern because of the related liability and cost issues, Robertson County and many other Texas counties are complying with 2017’s Sandra Bland Act, which mandates additional efforts by Texas jails to help ensure the safety and security of inmates with mental illness. Based upon availability, inmates will be able to access medical and mental health professionals through the video visitation monitors located in the housing units.

In the new Robertson County facility, a primary corridor connects the sheriff’s office with the jail. Beyond the customary spaces for administration, dispatch, criminal investigation, evidence, patrol and support, the sheriff’s office also includes a Texas Ranger office and a 40-person training room that doubles as an emergency operations center.

A total of 74 spaces accommodate secure staff parking and visitor parking, and deliveries and entry into the staff parking lot will be controlled by barrier gates, cameras and an intercom. The site also will support a planned gas fueling station and impound yard.

The building will incorporate tilt-up wall panels and an exterior insulation finishing system for quick and economical construction.

“This is probably one of the most important projects for our county’s future,” shared Keith Petitt, who sits on the Robertson County Commissioners Court. “It has truly been a group effort by our Commissioners Court and our County Auditor Candice Anderson, who was extremely helpful behind the scenes. Through the design and development stages, we have created a facility that is 21st century – a facility that will meet the needs of our county for the next 40-plus years.”

In May, the Robertson County Commissioners voted unanimously to issue certificates of obligation to fund the new sheriff’s office and jail to supplement a sizable cash reserve the county already had on hand. As Commissioner Petitt explained to local media, had the project been delayed until a November referendum vote, the increasing costs of construction likely would have boosted the total price tag by another $1 million. That’s a risk the county couldn’t take, especially as “there are multiple jail standard violations that are taking [the current jail] out of compliance with the state,” Petitt told the media.

Indeed, it’s been no secret that the existing Robertson County Jail does not consistently meet standards set forth by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

The new Robertson County sheriff’s office and jail will certainly remedy that – and then some. The commencement of this project marks a historic step in the county’s evolution, one that will enhance the safety and protection of its residents for decades to come.

Sandra Bland Act

November 1, 2018 by County Progress

Jail Commission, Counties Navigate New Mandates

By Julie Anderson
Editor

The Sandra Bland Act, passed by the 85^th 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. Читайте здесь, как Макс Поляков организовал приют. Все, кто требует помощи, может её получить. Throughout the last year, 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 SB1849.

Important elements of the Sandra Bland Act, required deadlines, and actions taken to date are as follows:

Identification and Notification of Defendant Suspected of Having Mental Illness or Intellectual Disability to Magistrate

The Code of Criminal Procedure was amended to require the sheriff, “not later than 12 hours, rather than 72 hours, after receiving credible information that may establish reasonable cause to believe that a defendant committed to the sheriff’s custody has a mental illness or is a person with an intellectual disability, including observation of the defendant’s behavior immediately before, during, and after the defendant’s arrest and the results of any previous assessment of the defendant, to provide written or electronic notice of the information to the magistrate.”

Key Change: The notification requirement is now 12 hours rather than 72 hours; this change went into effect on Sept. 1, 2017.

Diversion of Those Suffering Mental Health Crisis or Substance Abuse

The Code of Criminal Procedure was amended to require each law enforcement agency to make a “good faith effort” to divert a person suffering a mental health crisis or suffering from the effects of substance abuse to a proper treatment center in the agency’s jurisdiction if:

there is an available and appropriate treatment center in the agency’s jurisdiction to which the agency is authorized to divert the person;
it is reasonable to divert the person;
the offense that the person is accused of is a misdemeanor, other than a misdemeanor involving violence; and
the mental health crisis or substance abuse issue is suspected to be the reason the person committed the alleged offense.

This new requirement went into effect on Sept. 1, 2017.

Grant Money for Community Collaboratives

The Sandra Bland Act amended the Government Code to require the Department of State Health Services to, depending on appropriated funds, make grants available to certain entities for the establishment or expansion of collaboratives to provide services to those experiencing homelessness, substance abuse issues, or mental illness. На сегодня в городе запланировано интересное мероприятие. Узнай тут подробности о том, как все происходило. Language was also added to the statute requiring the development of plans for certain community collaboratives.

As of press time, these plans were still in development.

Release on Personal Bond of Certain Defendants with Mental Illness or Intellectual Disability

The Code of Criminal Procedure was amended to require a magistrate to “release a defendant on personal bond unless good cause is shown otherwise if the defendant is examined by the local mental health or intellectual and developmental disability authority or a certain other mental health expert, and an applicable expert, in a certain written assessment, concludes that the defendant has a mental illness or is a person with an intellectual disability and is nonetheless competent to stand trial, and recommends mental health treatment or intellectual disability treatment for the defendant, as applicable.”

This new requirement took effect on Sept. 1, 2017.

Safety of Prisoners

The Sandra Bland Act requires county jails 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 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.

On Oct. 2, the Commission sent a Technical Assistance Memo to all County Judges discussing telemental health care. The memo included the following language: In the coming months, the Commission will hold workshops to develop policies that will define compliance with this new rule and will inform jails of the policies. Some of the policies to be determined will be:

What will inspectors look for to determine compliance?
What is a telemental health service, and where can this service be found?
Will a phone call to a mental health professional be compliant?
Must the telemental health care be delivered via computer?
Must the inmate be able to see a live video of the mental health professional?
Must the Commission approve the equipment?
Must jails comply if they currently have onsite mental/medical?

Prisoner Safety Fund

Approximately $1 million was appropriated to the Commission for the Prisoner Safety Fund; the grant fund became operational in September 2017 with the first disbursement going to Bosque County in June 2018. Counties are being reimbursed on a case-by-case basis upon review of itemized documentation indicating the cost of equipment and installation.

The Commission has contacted County Judges, jailers, and sheriffs in eligible counties regarding the grant application and reimbursement process, explained Bobby Ratra, grant coordinator for the Commission.

As of press time, there were 50 counties already in compliance without requesting funding, reported William Turner, research specialist with the Commission. Eight counties have received a total of $38,500 in funding. Over 50 counties have submitted or are in the process of submitting requests for funding, which will total approximately $155,000.

For more information on the Prisoner Safety Fund, please contact Ratra at bobby.ratra@tcjs.state.tx.us or Jason Ross at jason.ross@tcjs.state.tx.us.

Continuity of Medications

The Commission shall adopt reasonable rules and procedures establishing minimum standards regarding the continuity of prescription medications for the care and treatment of prisoners.

The Commission adopted rule §273.2(12), effective Jan. 1, 2018, which implemented this component of the Sandra Bland Act as follows: Provide procedures that shall require that a qualified medical professional shall review as soon as possible any prescription medication a prisoner is taking when the prisoner is taken into custody.

Serious Incident Report

On or before the fifth day of each month, the sheriff of each county must report to the Commission any of the following incidents that happened in the county jail during the prior month:

suicide;
attempted suicide;
death;
serious bodily injury, as that term is defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code;
assault;
escape;
sexual assault; and
any use of force resulting in bodily injury, as that term is defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code.

The new rule became effective Jan. 1, 2018, and the first reports were due on Feb. 5, 2018, covering the previous month, Wood said.

Death in Custody Investigation

On the death of a prisoner in a county jail, the Commission shall appoint a law enforcement agency, other than the local law enforcement agency that operates the county jail, to investigate the death as soon as possible.

While counties may have their own criminal investigators or internal affairs divisions investigate deaths in custody, the Commission is mandated to appoint an independent, outside agency to investigate the death.

The Commission adopted rules 269.5(A), (B), and (C) effective Jan. 1, 2018, as follows:

Deaths in Custody

(A) The Texas Commission on Jail Standards shall be notified of all deaths of inmates while in the custody of sheriff/operator within 24 hours of the death.

(B) The Commission shall appoint a law enforcement agency, other than the local law enforcement agency that operates the county jail, to investigate the death.

(C) Upon conclusion of the investigation by the designated law enforcement agency, the report shall be submitted to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

The Commission also approved and is implementing a list of independent investigators.

Jail Administrator Examination

The Government Code was amended to require the Texas Division on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to develop and the Commission to approve an examination for county jail administrators.

The sheriff of a county must perform the duties of the jail administrator position at any time there is not a person available who satisfies the examination requirements of this new section of law.

Anyone serving as a jail administrator on or before March 1, 2018, will be grandfathered and not required to take the exam. However, if a jail administrator transfers to another county, or a new or incoming sheriff appoints the existing jail administrator to the same position, the exemption does not apply, and the administrator must take the exam.

The Commission adopted rule 275.8, effective March 1, 2018:

Jail Administrator Examination. A person appointed to the position of Jail Administrator after March 1, 2018, is required to satisfy the requirements of the Jail Administrator Examination as required by Texas Government Code §511.00905. A person appointed as Jail Administrator must satisfy this requirement within 180 days of his/her appointment. If the person appointed as jail administrator is unable to satisfy the requirements of the examination, he/she shall be immediately removed and may not serve as the jail administrator until he/she satisfies the examination requirements of this section.

As of press time, 323 jailers had taken and passed the exam.

Jail Training – Mental Health Course

The Occupations Code was amended to require that county jailer training include at least eight hours of mental health training approved by TCOLE and the Commission. Current license holders have until Aug. 31, 2021, to take an approved eight-hour course.

The new law requires the Commission to employ three mental health trainers who will be responsible for teaching the mental course in their assigned regions.

The training will be at no cost to the county.

The Commission has hired three staff members to conduct the training. As of press time, 6,298 actively appointed jailers (temporary and permanent) had completed the TCJS Mental Health training. To put this in context, there are 23,058 licensed jailers in Texas and 2,621 with a Temporary Jailer License, Turner explained.

New Training Requirement for Law Enforcement Officers

The Occupations Code was amended to require TCOLE, as part of the minimum curriculum requirements, to require an officer to complete a 40-hour statewide education and training program on de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques to facilitate interaction with persons with mental impairments. The new language also requires TCOLE, as part of the minimum curriculum requirements, to require an officer to complete a statewide education and training program on de-escalation techniques to facilitate interaction with members of the public, including techniques for limiting the use of force resulting in bodily injury.

To read more about this requirement, please see the statute: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/, click on (85)R, and key in SB1849.

Important Reminders

Wood has fielded a multitude of questions from officials across the state and has offered the following suggestions:

The law does not require electronic sensors or cameras for each and every cell, “so be mindful of that statement from vendors,” Wood emphasized. The agency will be conducting a survey to assist counties in determining if they already comply or what they will need in order to comply.
Regarding the eight-hour course for jailers: This course is free and will be conducted across the state over the next four years. “Make sure your jailers do not wait until the last moment to attend one of the classes,” Wood cautioned. Regarding jail administrators who are grandfathered in, “we encourage all of them to take the exam as it helps promote professionalism within their profession and demonstrates competency.”

To view the Minimum Jail Standards, go to https://www.tcjs.state.tx.us/ and click on TCJS Resources. *

Lampasas County Breaks Ground on $18 Million Jail

June 18, 2018 by County Progress

A project 10-plus years in the making reached a milestone April 30 as officials broke ground to mark the ceremonial start of construction on a new county jail. The 56,000-square-foot law enforcement center will include 112 inmate beds, offices for sheriff’s staff, a centrally located communications center, and more work space than is available in the existing county jail.

Voters endorsed the project with 62 percent approving the issuance of up to $18.75 million in bonds to build the new center, partnering with Burns Architecture LLC of Lakeway, and Don Krueger Construction of Victoria.

“Our present jail was built in the early 1970s and expanded in 1991,” explained Lampasas County Judge Wayne L. Boultinghouse, “like putting a big box over a small box. The kitchen and plumbing were not changed, so we became overwhelmed.

“The new facility is at the edge of town and will have adequate space and parking,” Boultinghouse continued. “I feel good about retiring in December, having made a big step forward in upgrading our facilities.”

The new jail will include three times as many beds as the existing jail; the county currently sends inmates to out-of-county facilities.

The project should be completed by the end of 2019.

– The Lampasas Dispatch Record contributed information to this article.

Prisoner Safety Measures Address At-Risk Inmates

Sheriffs Encourage Commissioners Court to Prioritize Jail Operations

Jail Commission, Counties Navigate New Mandates

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