Cameron County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection

The Cameron County Jail, in Brownsville, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The TCJS inspected the Cameron County Jail December 7 through 9, 2021. The Cameron County Jail is now listed as being non-compliant at the TCJS’s website.

The TCJS inspector found at least three minimum jail standards violations. First, the inspector determined, when inspecting portions of the jail, that she was unable to verify that weekly and monthly full load generator tests were conducted. TCJS standards require that emergency power equipment be tested at least once each week, and that electric load be transferred to circuits at least monthly.

Second, the TCJS inspector found that Cameron County Jail Administration could not produce documentation proving that all jail employees had received two hours of suicide prevention training annually. This training was required by Cameron County Jail’s mental disabilities/suicide prevention operational plan. This is a serious violation, as our law firm handles an unfortunate number of jail suicide cases across Texas. Employees of county jails in Texas must be trained and educated as to how to recognize inmates who have self-harm tendencies and/or are suicidal. The failure to train employees could lead to severe injury and/or death.

Finally, the TCJS inspector determined that inmate housing areas needed to be cleaned and have excess trash removed. The old portion of the jail needed to be painted, including rusty stairs in each dorm. There were multiple light fixtures covered with paper, and multiple vents covered with toilet paper. There were multiple sink/toilet units dirty and rusty. Significantly troubling, the same issues were noted to be areas of technical assistance during the prior annual inspection. Hopefully, the Cameron County Jail will bring itself into compliance with minimum state standards.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.