This post continues with the series looking a Notice of Non-Compliance letter dated August 23, 2022, that was addressed to Runnels County Jail. The question being explored is how inmates may be endangered when a jail fails to meet the minimum jail standards established by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Runnels County Jail’s address is 606 Strong Avenue, Ballinger, Texas, 76821.

Non-Compliance Under §263.55- Inspections, Maintenance, Testing

The jail requirement in Rule §263. 55- Inspections, Maintenance, Testing is that all life safety equipment must be maintained, inspected, and tested by a qualified person to ensure that such equipment is always secure, safe, and fully operational.

• The TCJS inspector reported that the ANSUL system in the kitchen was last inspected in December 2021, making the inspection out of date for three months at the time of inspection.

The ANSUL Kitchen System is an automatic fire suppression system able to tackle large, dangerous fires without human involvement.

The same rule was also violated per the additional notes from the inspector, which are summarized below:

• On inspection day, the transfer switch for the facility generator was inoperable and had been since April 2021 and repairs had not been completed as of the March 24, 2022, inspection at Runnels County Jail.

In a news report about non-compliance routinely being discovered among local jails in Texas, the point is made that minimum jail standards are established as a way of ensuring that both employees and inmates are protected. At the time of the news report, researchers found that each week approximately 25 of the 245 county jails in Texas are cited for non-compliance.

See Part 1 and this continuing series.

This site purposes to provide helpful resources that will benefit local prisoners detained in city or county jails. Implicating institutions or individuals in acts of wrongdoing is never an intention.

–Guest Contributor