Category: City Jails|County Jails|Medical Care|Restraint Chair|Restraints|Texas Commission on Jail Standards

Menard County Jail is in Menard, Texas 76859 at 205 Tipton Street. The jail can be contacted at the phone number (325) 396-2487. The inmate capacity at Menard County Jail is 8. Jail operations are among the responsibilities of the Menard County Sheriff. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has the duty of establishing the minimum jail standards for Texas jails and enforcing them. Annual jail inspections and follow-up visits to non-compliant jails are the primary methods of enforcement.

Restraint Chairs

TCJS allows jails to use various types of restraints on inmates at risk for self-harm or for injuring others. Among the restraints used, restraint chairs are arguably the most controversial. Jurisdictions in various parts of the US have outlawed the use of restraint chairs because custodial deaths have been associated with the restraint device.

The following are among the requirements for using restraint chairs:

• Whenever a restraint chair is used, it must qualify as the least restrictive type of restraint device required for that particular situation.
• In all instances, only medical professionals and supervisory staff at the jails are qualified to approve the use of a restraint chair.
• As with the use of any restraint device, care must be taken to ensure that if the inmate has certain physical ailments or disabilities, the restraint chair must not worsen those physical issues.

This website’s posts are meant as helpful resources, and it is never meant to imply that an individual or entity has engaged in misdeeds of any kind.

–Guest Contributor

Medina County Jail is in Hondo, Texas 78861 at 801 Avenue Y. The jail can be contacted at the phone number (830) 741-6058. The inmate capacity at Medina County Jail is 96. Jail operations are among the duties of the Medina County Sheriff. The minimum jail standards for Texas jails are established and enforced by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS).

Restraint Chairs

When inmates are exhibiting violent behavior that can cause harm to themselves or others, restraints can be used in Texas jails. The type of restraint used must match the appropriate level of control required to subdue an inmate and prevent harm, which means no more restraint than is necessary for the situation must be used. The following are more of the requirements for using restraint chairs, per Texas jail standards:

• Only professionally manufactured restraint chairs that have been approved by TCJS can be used in Texas jails.
• The only individuals qualified to approve placing an inmate in a restraint chair are supervisory personnel and medical professionals.
• At specified intervals, which is typically about every 10 minutes, an inmate in a restraint chair must be personally observed by a qualified member of the jail or health care staff. During this observation, the circulation in the inmate’s extremities must be checked.
• For every two hours that an inmate is in a restraint chair, medical care must be provided, and it must include allowing the inmate to use toilet facilities, change positions, exercise extremities, drink liquids, and more.

This website’s posts are meant as helpful resources, and it is never meant to imply that an individual or entity has engaged in misdeeds of any kind.

–Guest Contributor