County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has recently listed Leon County Jail in Texas as a Non-Compliant Jail on the TCJS website. A Notice of Non-Compliance was issued on June 26, 2023. It specifies the minimum jail standards the jail was cited for in a jail inspection report issued on June 22, 2023. TCJS inspectors assert that the Centerville, Texas, jail violated 2 minimum jail standards.

The address of Leon County Jail is 606 East St Marys St, Centerville, TX 75833. The jail has a housing capacity of 53 inmates. Details on alleged noncompliance follow.

Rule §271.7- Audit

Leon County Jail has been cited for violating Rule §271.7- Audit, which is in the chapter on the Classification and Separation of Inmates. The plan shall provide that an annual, internal audit shall be conducted on the classification system. Audit records shall be maintained for Commission review. The audit shall assess the following features of the objective classification system:

  (1) inmates are classified prior to placement in inmate housing;

  (2) inmates are housed according to their assigned custody levels;

  (3) the override rate is acceptable; and

  (4) classification instruments are completed in an accurate and timely manner.

• While reviewing the Classification audit, it was discovered that the last documentation of this annual internal audit was February of 2022.

Rule §281.3-Balanced Diet

Leon County Jail has been cited for violating Rule §281.3-Balanced Diet, which is in the chapter on Food Service. Except in emergency situations, meals shall be served in accordance with a written menu approved and reviewed annually for compliance with nationally recognized allowances for basic nutrition including nutritional requirements of known pregnant inmates. This approval and review shall be documented and should be performed by a licensed or provisional licensed dietitian.

• During the review of kitchen documentation, the last menu approval on file for the Leon County Jail was November 30, 2021.