Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas 78701 is located at 500 W 10^th St. The jail’s bed capacity is 3,095, and the contact phone number is (512) 854-9889. The Travis County Sheriff handles Travis County Jail operations, which includes ensuring that the jail is up to code. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) heads up the construction and operations of county jails in Texas, including inspecting jails to check whether minimum jail standards are being met.

Restraint Chairs

TCJS has included restraint chairs in the array of restraint devices that can be used in Texas county jails when inmates are a potential threat to themselves or others. The guidelines for restraints include the directive to use the least restrictive method that is appropriate in any particular situation. Only when less restrictive devices and attempts at de-escalation have been unsuccessful is a jail to use a restraint chair.

Manufacturers of restraint chairs provide guidelines for safe use of the chairs, and what is allowed in jails sometimes goes outside the realm of recommended use. For instance, manufacturers typically suggest that a person should not be in a restraint chair for longer than two hours, and an added proviso is that 10 hours max is the limit. TCJS does have the requirement that after an inmate has spent two hours in any type of restraint, medical care must be provided. That medical care must include allowing the inmate to move his or her limbs and go to the restroom. The overall limit for keeping an inmate in a restraint chair in Texas, however, is 24 hours.

This site’s posts are offered as helpful resources for current or former Texas inmates in county jails. At no time is there an intent to suggest that people or entities are or have been engaged in wrongs. 

–Guest Contributor