La Salle County Jail in Cotulla, Texas, Allegedly Violates 2 Minimum Jail Standards
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) conducted a jail inspection of La Salle County Jail in Cotulla, Texas, and issued a jail inspection report on November 16, 2017. The investigators with TCJS found two alleged violations of minimum jail standards. Both of the cited standards involve ensuring the safety of prisoners. More information follows:
- Prisoners in a detoxification or holding cell must be observed face-to-face by jail personnel every 30 minutes or less. TCJS reported that after a careful review of video evidence and paperwork, it was found that either welfare checks of prisoners in detox or holding cells exceeded 30-minutes or the checks were not documented or completed as required by minimum jail standards.
- Facilities have strict guidelines related to ensuring regular face-to-face observation of all prisoners. The maximum amount of time prisoners must be checked in person is every 60 minutes. Some prisoners are in areas of a jail in which they are to be checked every 30 minutes. When being booked into jail, prisoners go through a process to determine whether they are potentially suicidal, mentally ill, assaultive, or demonstrate bizarre behavior. If any of these are indicated, the prisoners are given face-to-face checks every 30 minutes. In addition, there must be a voice communication capability between jailers and prisoners that goes both ways. Closed circuit televisions can be used, but it cannot take the place of personal observation. TCJS investigators found that that in the area where observations must be made every 60 minutes or less, jail staff allegedly failed to meet those minimum jail standards.
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