Liberty County Jail – Listed as Non-Compliant After it Fails TCJS Inspection
The Liberty County jail, in Texas, recently failed a Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection. The TCJS inspector noted a number of issues with the jail. The Liberty County Sheriff’s Department is in charge of the jail.
When the TCJS inspector walked through the facility, the inspector noted that inmates were being held more than 48 hours in a holding cell. This is a violation of Texas minimum jail standards.
The TCJS inspector also noted, when reviewing inmate medical files, that jail staff were not completing in its entirety the intake form promulgated by the TCJS. This is vitally important, because inmates are at highest risk for suicide within the hours and days after they are originally incarcerated.
The jail also was not conducting a CCQ system search for every inmate. The CCQ search enables the jail to determine whether an inmate has previously received state mental health care. This assists jailers in determining whether to place a newly-arrested prisoner on suicide watch.
There was a long list of preventive maintenance that needed to be completed. The TCJS inspector noted, by way of example, that a lock panel and mechanism was loose and exposed, a day room shower had exposed wiring, a breaker box was unsecured, and a telephone partition was bent and thus exposed mental edging.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone