The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has listed Bosque County Jail in Texas as a Non-Compliant Jail on the TCJS website due to a failure to meet minimum jail standards in February 2023. In a jail inspection report dated February 24, 2023, TCJS inspector Byron Shelton cited the jail for two violations of jail standards.

The address of Bosque County Jail is 266 FM 2840, Meridian, TX 76665.

TCJS cited Bosque County Jail for non-compliance with §263.41 in a chapter entitled Life Safety Rules. The jail is also allegedly noncompliant with §273.6(3)-Restraints, which is in the chapter on Health Services.

§263.41-Training and Drills

It is required under rule §263.41-Training and Drills that staff shall be trained for emergency situations immediately upon employment and no less than each calendar quarter for all jail staff to include evacuation drills, emergency, fire, and location and use of equipment.

• When the air pack/fire drill training was reviewed, the inspector found on the training documents for this area of training that the records did not coincide with the quarter listed on the training document on multiple entry dates. Also, multiple members of the staff did not receive this training as the minimum standard dictates on multiple occasions/quarters.

273.6(3)-Restraints

Part (3) in the instructions regarding restraints, jails are required to document the observations of inmates, which shall be conducted in intervals not to exceed every 15 minutes. The observations will include assessments of the restraint’s security and the blood circulation to the inmate’s extremities.

• During the review of usage of the restraint chair, the inspector learned that no log was being utilized to document these instances.

It is very risky to use restraint chairs, per the manufacturer’s instructions. Failing to log the observations of inmates while they are in the restraint chair is concerning. Also, something as seemingly simple as failing to train jail staff on, for example, the location and use of equipment such as an AED could result in the death of an inmate.

The standard procedure is for TCJS to work closely with jails that are in noncompliance with the minimum jail standards to be sure they bring things up to standard.