One in Three Jails Failing State Check

When inspected, the jails ranged in population from seven inmates to more than 9,000, and infractions ranged from mold to structural problems to inadequate staffing, Commission director Adan Munoz said. Many are crumbling with age and lack adequate space for female inmates.

"Most of the jails that we're currently inspecting are pretty much at the minimum anywhere from 10 to 15 years old or older, which starts to create infrastructure problems," he said. "Equate it to a home, except being used as a much larger volume. The facility begins to get worn down."

Of 38 county jails inspected by March 20, 13 have failed. Seventy-three of the state's 268 jails failed in 2006, among them the Harris County Jail, one of the state's largest with more than 9,000 inmates. The facility remains overcrowded, though state inspectors have given Harris County credit for making a "good faith effort" to fix the problem.

Harris County commissioners will likely ask voters in November to approve $200 million-plus in bonds that would add 4,600 beds.

Munoz said just about any infraction of the commission's standards could make the jail noncompliant, and most jails corrected the problem before the next inspection. Of the 37 jails currently deemed noncompliant, he said only four had to have remedial orders against them, all for overcrowding.