San Antonio’s Bexar County Jail Reaches Near Capacity
San Antonio, Texas – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Tuesday that 150 jail inmates were transported, via bus, to Burnet and Kerr counties earlier this month. The action came as a response to the Bexar County Jail, located in San Antonio, reaching near its maximum capacity, thus exceeding recommended thresholds set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
Sheriff Javier Salazar had previously established memorandums of understanding with the two counties as an attempt to alleviate overcrowding at the adult detention center. The resolution left many county commissioners puzzled during the Tuesday meeting at the courthouse.
Detention Center Overcrowding
As of Tuesday, the jail population remained uncomfortably close to its limit at 5,079 inmates. The detention center’s official capacity is recorded at 5,107, as per the sheriff’s department. Sheriff Salazar was unavailable to provide answers to commissioners regarding the jail population situation due to his attendance at a White House meeting on border security.
The issues of an overcrowded population and mandatory overtime costs necessary to manage the facility are not new. The county’s budget office has projected these extra work hours to cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually.
Deputy Johnny Garcia, representative for the sheriff’s department, affirmed that the aim of reducing the jail population is to bring it nearer to the state recommendations of a 90% capacity level. “They recommend that jails should not operate near 90% of jail population capacity in the event that inmates need to be relocated and housed appropriately within the facility,” he clarified. Simply stated, an overcrowded jail endangers its inhabitants.
Reasons Behind Sudden Increase in Jail Population
The unexpected uptick in inmates is, in part, due to a new computer software glitch that interrupted typical inmate intake and release procedures, forcing them to be carried out manually by jail personnel. Additional slow action from the state in retrieving inmates meant to be in state prisons was also identified as contributing to the overcrowding problem.
Of the mass of inmates transferred to other counties, all were reported as “paper ready” and should have been located in state prisons, according to jail administrators.
Proposing a Solution
During the meeting, commissioners deferred a proposal from Sheriff Salazar for a one-year, $4 million agreement with Kerr and Burnet counties. The sheriff had formerly arranged only memorandums of understanding with the counties to expedite the process, but no formal contracts were put into place. County Judge Peter Sakai asked sheriff staff to return with shorter-term solutions.
The relocated inmates’ temporary home counties charge $65 and $85 per inmate per day for them to be housed in their jails. With the jail nearing capacity once again, this hefty cost will continue to climb unless a long-term solution can be identified.
