Classification and Separation of Inmates in Texas County Jails
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) oversees county jails and other prisoner facilities in Texas. The laws guiding county jails are found in the Texas Administrative Code. The guidelines are put in place for the protection of prisoners, staff members, visitors, and the public. One area that is specified relates to classification and separation of prisoners. This particular guideline was part of a lawsuit recently filed against the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office and others in connection with a man allegedly placed with the wrong class of fellow prisoners, after which he was allegedly sexually assaulted and battered. The man filing the lawsuit wishes to remain anonymous and is being referred to as John Doe.
It says in the code regarding the separation and classification of prisoners that the following risk factors should be used in order to determine how a prisoner will be classified and to be sure that he or she is placed in the least restrictive housing available without endangering prisoners, the public, or staff members:
- Offense history
- Current conviction or offense
- Institutional disciplinary history
- Stability factors
- Drug and/or alcohol abuse
- Prior convictions
- Escape history
In the case of John Doe, he was brought in after going into an epileptic seizure and allegedly causing three collisions. It was allegedly a medical condition that caused the problem and yet he was arrested and errantly housed in maximum security.
Ethnicity, religious preference, and race cannot be used as classification criteria.
Prisoners at minimum and maximum custody levels must be housed separately.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh