Childress County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has found the Childress County jail, in Childress, Texas, to be non-compliant. The TCJS made this determination as a result of an inspection occurring on or about August 24, 2022. The TCJS notified Childress County Judge Jay Mayden and Sheriff Danny Gillem.
The TCJS inspector found, when reviewing restraint logs, that jail staff exceeded 15-minute observation checks required by minimum standards by as little as one minute and by as many as 15 minutes on multiple occasions. The TCJS inspector required jail staff to be trained on the use of restraints and necessary documentation. Childress jail administration had to provide documentation of use of restraint training and also copies of restraint logs to the inspector for the next 60 to 90 days. This was a serious violation, and could lead to injury or death.
The second serious violation which could lead to serious injury or death was the jails failure to provide even one hour of suicide prevention training during calendar year 2022. Moreover, three jailers were noted as not receiving suicide prevention training during year 2021. The TCJS inspector required the jail administrator to immediately complete an hour of suicide prevention training with all jailers. Hopefully, no one was seriously injured or died as a result of the failure to train people on perhaps the most common manner in which people die in Texas county jails. Moreover, the TCJS inspector found, when reviewing Suicide and Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairment forms that, on three occasions, the form was not completed in its entirety. It is extremely important to complete this mental health intake form, so that jailers and other working in our Texas county jails appropriately triage and protect inmates. This is required by the United States Constitution.
The TCJS inspector also found that, with regard to the new jail administrator in Childress County, he or she did not have a current practice in place demonstrating compliance regarding the one to 48 jailer to inmate ratio. The TCJS inspector advised the jail administrator to begin immediately using a sign-in roster for staff, indicating jailers present and their assignment for the shift. Jail staff had to scan and email to the TCJS inspector copies of staff rosters for the next 30 to 60 days.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone