HOUSTON — Harris County is moving hundreds of jail inmates to a private prison in West Texas because the jail here is busting at the seams.
The Harris County Commissioners Court approved $25 million in funding to cover the cost of moving and housing the overflow inmates.
Editor's note: The above video originally aired on Dec. 8, 2021
They will be moved to the Dalby Correctional Facility south of Lubbock. For families or attorneys, that's nearly 500 miles away and an eight-hour drive from Houston, according to Google maps.
According to the jail's dashboard, the current population is 10,044, which is beyond capacity. The majority of those inmates are awaiting trial for felony crimes.
The Harris County Jail has been struggling with overcrowding for years, due partly to court backlogs caused by Hurricane Harvey and then the pandemic.
History of problems
Overcrowding is far from the only problem at the jail.
A report from The Texas Commission on Jail Standards last December raised a red flag about security issues before investigators say a sergeant was sexually assaulted and beaten by an inmate.
After the report was issued, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez admitted that there are problems at the jail, including a shortage of jailers. He said they are working on solutions.
In 2019, there were 47 jailers assaulted by inmates, according to the Harris County Deputies' Organization. In 2021, that number soared to 1,265.
“They [jailers] are leaving in droves because it’s been an abusive atmosphere that’s been created," said David Batton, the organization's attorney, said back in December.
The deputies' organization filed a lawsuit last September over working conditions inside the jail.
“We are not asking for money. This lawsuit is not about money, this is about having someone come in and provide sufficient oversight and take over management of the jail," Batton said.
In a letter KHOU 11 obtained from the state commission to Harris County, there are three red flags from a mid-November inspection.
The first, an hour and a half to more than two hours sometimes between rounds to check on inmates. The second, pulling staff from other positions to meet the required ratio. The third deficiency was on sanitation.
“It’s critical that we exceed minimum staffing," Gonzalez said. He addressed questions about security after the inmate ambushed the sergeant in her fifth floor office in December.
“The reason the door was open is because of there is inadequate ventilation because of improper defective equipment, and so she opened the door to get some fresh air while she was in there working," said Batton.
Gonzalez admitted many jailers are burned out.
"The other thing would be for us to potentially outsource until we could lessen some of the pressure, population wise," the sheriff said in response to the report.