Category: Texas Commission on Jail Standards

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”), on September 3^rd and 4^th, 2019, conducted an inspection of the Anderson County jail.  The TCJS has now listed the Anderson County jail as being non-compliant.

TCJS noted that the Anderson County jail violated Section 273.4(b) of TCJS standards.  The TCJS inspector noted that, during the inspection, medical staff were not using Medication Administration Records (“MAR”) sheets since the failed implementation of an electronic MAR system in July 2019.  Hopefully, the Anderson County jail will remedy this issue and assure the safety of its inmates.   

The San Jacinto County jail, in Texas, recently failed a State inspection.  The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) conducted an inspection of the San Jacinto County Jail on September 6, 2019.  The San Jacinto County jail is operated, in our understanding, by the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Department.  We are uncertain as to whether a private company also participates in operation of the jail and/or provides medical care and medication to inmates.

The TCJS inspection report indicates that the jail violated a TCJS standard.  That standard requires that the jail keep appropriate health records, which in turn should reflect all findings, diagnoses, treatment, disposition, special housing assignments, medical isolation, distribution of medications, and the names of any institution to which an inmate’s health record has been released.  The TCJS inspector determined that medical staff were not properly documenting daily distribution of medications.  Medical staff were also not retaining Medical Administration Record (MAR) sheets after the end of each month for TCJS review.  Hopefully, the San Jacinto County jail will remedy this issue and assure the heath of inmates.

The Duval County jail recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The TCJS conducted an inspection of the jail, in San Diego, Texas. San Diego, Texas is west of Corpus Christi.

The TCJS inspector noted a number of deficiencies. First, intercoms in holding cells 209 and 210, and detox cells, did not work as designed. It is vitally important that prisoners in holding and detox cells be able to communicate with jail staff. Prisoners in holding and detox cells are typically those at highest risk of serious injury or death.

Second, the Duval County jail violated the Texas Administrative Code requirement that all life safety equipment be periodically inspected. The TCJS inspector noted that the last inspection of the fire panel was conducted on April 3, 2018.

Further, Texas jails have an obligation to verify the veteran status of each prisoner by using data made available through a governmental agency. Duval County jail staff were unable to provide reporting logs for 2018 or 2019, and they likewise could not prove that each prisoner was entered into the Veterans Re-entry Search Service System. Duval County, Texas jail staff also were unable to show compliance with appropriate prisoner classification standards. Jail administration was unable to produce the original classification document for several inmates.

The last two items listed on the report are perhaps the most serious. Texas county jails are required to use a form issued by the TCJS to screen new prisoners, during booking, for certain physical and psychological issues. Intake screening is, in part, to identify prisoners who are observed to mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal. The inspector noted that mental health screening forms were often missing from Duval County Sheriff’s Department files. Further, the inspector could not verify whether local health officials were notified when necessary as required by Texas minimum jail standards and Texas law.

Finally, and equally troubling, the TCJS inspector determined that one of the jailers would document physical face-to-face observation of prisoners when in fact such observations did not occur during a certain shift. TCJS standards requires that certain face-to-face observations be made by jailers, at specified intervals. This is an important requirement for prisoner safety, especially for prisoners who are detoxing and/or potentially suicidal. Hopefully, Duval County will quickly remedy these issues.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards recently determined, after an inspection of the Shelby County, Texas jail, that the jail was not compliant with minimum standards set forth by the TCJS. The Shelby County jail was inspected on January 3, 2019. The TCJS inspector cited the standard requiring every Texas county jail to have an appropriate number of jailers at the facility 24 hours per day. Moreover, the standard requires that each jail must have documented face-to-face observation of inmates no less than once every hour, and at least once every 30 minutes for inmates who are potentially suicidal, mentally ill, and/or who have other certain issues.

The TCJS inspector determined, after conducting the Shelby County jail inspection, that “the inmate worker” had not been conducting the required hourly checks. In fact, the TCJS inspector determined that the jailer was allowed to leave his work assignment several times for up to two-and-one-half hours each day, and engage in alleged illegal activity. We have no personal knowledge as to the truthfulness of such an allegation, but are instead simply providing publicly-available information regarding the TCJS inspection report.

The Waller County, Texas jail gained the unfortunate notoriety, worldwide, as being the location where Sandra Bland committed suicide. Ms. Bland’s suicide resulted in a change in Texas law regarding investigation of custodial deaths. However, despite such notoriety, and the fact that Ms. Bland’s death should have sent a message to Waller County, Waller County seems not to have taken appropriate remedial measures in its jail.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which is the state agency charged with inspecting county jails and investigating issues related to failure to comply with minimum standards, issued an inspection report on December 19, 2018 regarding the Waller County Jail. The TCJS found the Waller County jail as not being in compliance with minimum standards.

The inspector cited the requirement that jail staff be trained for emergency situations immediately upon employment, and further no less than each calendar quarter. However, when reviewing training records, the inspector found that four Waller County jailers did not have documented proof that they received training for the third quarter of 2018.

Further, inmates who are confined in a holding cell or detoxification cell must be observed by jail personnel at intervals of no more than 30 minutes. However, amazingly, especially in light of Ms. Bland’s death, the inspector found that, when reviewing 30-minute face-to-face observation logs, staff exceeded the 30-minute rounds by up to 23 minutes in some instances. This is wholly inadequate, as a person can commit suicide in less than ten minutes.

Further, regarding inmates in general, every jail in Texas must have the appropriate number of jailers at the facility 24 hours each day, and must observe inmates who do not have special issues, face-to-face, no less than once every 60 minutes. However, when the inspector reviewed such 60-minute observations, the inspector determined that Waller County Jail staff exceeded the 60-minute rounds by as much as 153 minutes. Therefore, there was at least one time when inmates had not been observed for over three hours. It is difficult at best to determine what will wake up Waller County as to its obligations to comply with minimum jail standards.

In December 2018, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards conducted an inspection of the Victoria County, Texas Jail. When doing so, the TCJS inspector included in her report descriptions of several issues with the jail.

The inspector noted that, when reviewing inmate health screening forms, she was unable to confirm that a magistrate had been notified on two files. The jail apparently scans files into the JMS system and then shreds the original documents. The inspector required the jail to, within 30 days, email the inspector a plan to ensure that all health screening documentation, including magistrate notifications, magistrate notification confirmations, and CCQ reports, are all scanned into the system before documentation is shredded. Whenever a Texas county jail inmate answers a question in the affirmative in response to certain questions, at intake, the jail is required by law to notify a magistrate of issues with the inmate. These issues can include suicidal tendencies.

The inspector also observed, while she was there, jail floor officers not properly observing inmates in cells when doing checks. She also noted that floor officers were late in conducting 30-minute face-to-face observations.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards recently issued a special inspection report regarding the Fannin County, Texas jail. The report was issued on December 19, 2018.

The report includes a reference to the requirement that every county jail shall have an appropriate number of jailers at the jail 24 hours per day. Moreover, every jail must have established procedures to document face-to-face observations of all inmates by jailers no less than once every 60 minutes. Finally, the standard requires that observations be performed at least every 30 minutes in areas where inmates are known to be potentially suicidal, mentally ill, assaultive, or who have demonstrated bizarre behavior.

The report apparently related to an inmate’s death, as the inspector referenced reviewing video evidence regarding such a death. The inspector determined that, while 30-minute face-to-face observations occurred before the inmate’s death, the previous round of observations exceeded the 30-minute requirement by up to 49 minutes.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has minimum jail standards. However, it is our firm’s opinion that some such standards are inadequate. If an inmate is potentially suicidal, anything short of continuous observation is insufficient. It takes just a few minutes for an inmate to commit suicide, and he or she can be found after doing so, if only 30-minute observations are being conducted, long after he or she is deceased. Thus, simply complying with Texas Commission on Jail Standards standards does not necessarily absolve a Texas county jail or its jailers of liability for the death of an inmate.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards recently issued an inspection report for the Brewster County, Texas jail.  The report was dated October 17, 2018.

The TCJS inspector indicated that, after he reviewed logs for training for emergency situations, it was determined that Brewster County jailers were not receiving training no less than each calendar quarter as required by TCJS standards. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards conducts inspections of county jails in Texas to determine whether such jails comply with promulgated standards.  Jails which do not comply with such standards can receive special inspection reports.

The size of the Idaho prison population has grown to the point that they have an ongoing bed shortage in the state’s jails and prisons. Soon, up to 250 male prisoners will be moved from Idaho to the Karnes County Correctional Center in Karnes City, Texas. This is a temporary arrangement, as the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDC) continues the search for a prison-bed provider to establish a long-term agreement with. The Karnes County Correctional Center is owned by GEO Group, which is a private company that contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It has a 550-bed capacity. The facility’s operation will be closely monitored onsite and in person by the Idaho Department of Correction’s Contract Oversight Unit, for the purpose of ensuring that standards for contract-bed providers set by the department are met.

Director of the Idaho Department of Correction, Henry Atencio, said it is not ideal to send prisoners out of state. It creates difficulties for the prisoners’ families and for IDC staff.

There was an occasion in 2009 when Idaho prisoners were at another Geo Group-run private prison facility in Texas, and they had to be moved after an Idaho prisoner committed suicide and a related investigation found that the facility was poorly operated and prisoners lived in squalid conditions.

The Karnes County Correctional Center is accredited by both the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the American Correctional Association. The facility recently passed inspections by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Department of Health Services. The Idaho prisoners will remain there until a long-term contract for the housing of 1,000 prisoners at an out-of-state facility is executed by the IDC and the beds at that facility become available. The department is attempting to make a contract for up to 1,000 beds for up to six years. The contract is expected to be finalized by March 17, 2018.

All of the prisoners selected for incarceration in Texas are classified as medium custody. They were held, until recently, at four different facilities: Idaho State Correctional Center, South Idaho Correctional Institution, Idaho Maximum Security Institution, and Idaho State Correctional Institution.

Part of the reason there is room for temporary housing of Idaho prisoners at the Karnes City facility could be that arrests for illegal U.S. border crossings are currently at a 46-year low.

The date and time of the transfer of prisoners from Idaho to Texas will not be publically announced. All prisoners will have the opportunity to call their families immediately upon arrival at the Karnes County Correctional Center.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) conducted a special inspection of Jefferson County Jail in Beaumont, Texas, and released a Special Inspection Report on October 17, 2017. The report claims that the jail staff violated minimum jail standards in connection with an alleged jail suicide. The identification of the individual who died in custody was not included in the report. It’s possible the special investigation was related to the custodial death of 38-year-old Jacobie Flowers in the Beaumont correctional facility. Flowers was discovered on the floor and in distress about 12 hours after being jailed. He died at approximately 3:40 p.m. on August 7, 2017.

The following are some of the details of the above-referenced special jail inspection report on Jefferson County Jail:

• Video evidence submitted to TCJS shows that the face-to-face observations of prisoners in detoxification or holding cells exceeded the maximum 30-minute time frame.
• Documentation indicates that the prisoner in question was supposed to be observed every 15 minutes at the most. Documentation shows that face-to-face observations exceeded the 15-minute limit by 5 minutes up to 2 full hours before the prisoner’s medical emergency.
• A magistrate was supposed to be notified when the prisoner was identified as having mental health issues, but there was no documentation showing that the requirement was adhered to.
• A Department of Public Safety Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (TLETS) Continuity of Care Query was supposed to be submitted on the prisoner in question, but it was allegedly not done.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor