A Texas County Jail is Non-Compliant with Supervision Requirements for At-Risk Inmates

A February 2022 Jail Inspection Report details noncompliance in the county jail in Texas alluded to in the last segment of this series. Allegedly, the jail where the inmate on suicide watch died failed to uphold the requirements in Rule §275.1–Regular Observation by Jailers. The rule requires jailers to conduct face-to-face observations of inmates in the required intervals. Specific to the alleged non-compliance, the inmates who are known to be aggressive or suicidal must be observed in intervals that do not exceed every 30 minutes.

• During a walkthrough conducted of the intake holdover housing area, a review was done of documented observation logs of aggressive and suicidal inmates. The written logs were compared to automated video documentation. There was a discrepancy showing that the observation logs were documented incorrectly as compared to what actually happened.
• In the notes by the inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), it indicates that at that particular jail, each inmate who has been designated as a person on suicide prevention status must be observed in intervals that do not exceed every 15 minutes.

Bexar County Jail is Found Allegedly Non-Compliant with Suicide Prevention Requirements

Non-compliance with rules regarding the face-to-face observations of inmates is not uncommon. One recent example is another Jail Inspection Report dated February 2022. This one is in regard to Bexar County Jail and a February 14-18, 2022, inspection.

The approved operational plan for suicide prevention at Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, requires observations every 15 minutes, per Rule §273.5(a)(5)–Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, and this ongoing series.

This website seeks to help current and former Texas inmates detained in city and county jails. At no time is it intended on this site to suggest that people or entities have been participants in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor