Jefferson County Jail in Beaumont Listed as Non-Compliant by Texas Commission on Jail Standards

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards recently completed a special inspection report regarding an inspection of the Jefferson County jail in Texas.  The inspection occurred on April 8, 2020, and the Jefferson County, Texas jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

The TCJS inspector noted that the Jefferson County jail violated two sections of minimum jail standards.  First, the inspector noted that the jail violated the standard that inmates not be held for more than 48 hours in holding cells provided to hold inmates pending intake, processing, release, or other reason for temporary holding.  The State inspector noted that an inmate was in holding from February 21, 2020 at 6:52 p.m. until February 24, 2020 at 2:45 a.m. 

The TCJS inspector also noted that the Jefferson County jail, in Beaumont, Texas, violated the Texas minimum jail standard that inmates confined in a holding or detoxification cell shall be observed by facility personnel at intervals not to exceed 30 minutes.  The TCJS inspector reviewed video, which revealed observation rounds of holding cells exceeding 30 minutes, multiple times between February 21, 2020 and February 24, 2020.

There is really no excuse for any Texas county jail to not to properly observe inmates in its facility.  Minimum standards have been set for quite some time, and jails should not operate if they cannot follow such standards.  Hopefully, the Jefferson County jail will remedy its issues and assure the safety of inmates in its care.  

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.