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Non-Compliant Jail Reports

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has four inspectors who are required to conduct at least a yearly inspection of the 241 county jails in our state to ensure that they are in compliance with the Texas Minimum Jail Standards as codified in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 37, Part 9. When jails are found to be out of compliance, the commission files a report which is used as the basis for inquiry at the quarterly hearings–attended by the Sheriffs–of the TCJS on the State Capitol.

These reports are also available on the TCJS website but only for a short time. Once they’re taken off, it takes an expensive FOIA request to acquire them. We are working on getting as many of these reports as possible. Our hope is to track the jails that are repeat offenders and find a pattern of neglect, abuse and/ deaths in custody.

Resolved Date County Notes Download
Active 11/20/2020 Hopkins County (Special) Inmates were being held in holding cells for more than 48 hours which is against the regulations. *16 inmates in a cell with a capacity of 10 *21 of 25 inmates had been in a holding cell in ... read more view
Active 11/09/2020 Montague County Detention officers, not supervisory or medical are making the decision to restrain in the emergency restraint chair. Restraint chair logs indicate that observation checks are being ... read more view
Active 10/15/2020 Cherokee County Overuse of solitary. Classification errors. Maintenance issues. Recreation not ... read more view
Active 10/20/2020 Gray County Restraint chair observations exceeded by 15 minutes minimum standard. Staff not receiving mandated ... read more view
Active 10/21/2020 Freestone County Re-Inspect Incomplete mental health screening forms. Lack of ... read more view
Active 09/25/2020 Dickens County No documentation to prove that jailers had received life safety ... read more view
Active 10/05/2020 Delta County No supporting documentation that life safety training was ... read more view
Active 10/07/2020 Red River County Issues with magistrate notification in mental health screening ... read more view
Active 10/14/2020 San Jacinto County No recreation and unsupervised food ... read more view
Active Walker County Violations included misuse of restraint chair and exceeding observation time while someone was confined in the restraint ... read more view
Resolved 09/24/2020 Dallam-Hartley County Not all staff were trained in life safety and emergency procedures for the fourth quarter of FY 2019 as ... read more view
Active 09/29/2020 Crosby County Suicide training was last conducted in November 2018. The Mental Health Operational Plan states staff will receive 4 hours of suicide training ... read more view
Active 09/25/2020 Starr County Face-to-face observations were not conducted within 15 minutes as ... read more view
Resolved 08/18/2020 Williamson County (Special)

Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody indicted in Javier Ambler ... read more

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Active 09/10/2020 Crockett County view
Active 09/23/2020 Sherman County Jail staff are not conducting 30 minute face-to-face observations of inmates on a regular ... read more view
Active 09/09/2020 Terrell County view
Active 07/21/2020 Midland County (Re-inspection) This inspection does not say anything about the medical care issues at this jail but here's a newsstory from August ... read more view
Resolved 06/02/2020 Coryell County Continuity of care was broken when physician prescribed medications were not reviewed and ... read more view
Resolved 05/28/2020 Angelina County Exceeded 15 minute observation of inmates in restraints. Exceeded the mandated 60 minute visual face-to-face observations anywhere from 1 to 249 ... read more view
Resolved 05/18/2020 Zavala County "The approved Suicide Prevention Plan states that jailers will be provided 80 hours of training on suicide prevention. The administration has never provided ... read more view
Resolved 05/11/2020 Haskell (P) "...Continuity of Care (CCQ) reports needed to complete the mental disabilities/suicide prevention screening instrument are not being generated timely enough to properly assess each inmate entering ... read more view
Active 05/08/2020 Freestone County Highlights:
  • Jail staff are not filling out the Screening Form for Suicide and Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairments in its entirety
  • Only a pharmacist ... read more
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Active 05/11/2020 Falls County This is the same county that was found non-compliant last year for intentionally overcrowding their jail with contract inmates and transport prisoners. That inspection led them to lose their ... read more view
Active 05/22/2020 Liberty County (P) Geo Highlights:
  • "While reviewing inmate medical files, it was observed that an inmate did not have medication levels checked per the physician's orders. Not following a physician's order was ... read more
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Resolved 05/20/2020 Maverick County view
Resolved 05/21/2020 Menard County The Suicide Screening Form was not completed on the inmate who committed suicide by hanging on May 16, 2020. Shockingly, no news can be found during a basic Google ... read more view
Resolved 05/14/2020 Smith County There has been a confirmed Covid-19 death in this facility and TJP has received multiple complaints from individuals in the jail and family members on a wide range of issues such as medical neglect, ... read more view
Resolved 05/06/2020 Matagorda Reassessments were not conducted within 30-90 days as required by minimum jail standards thus affecting classifcations. The administration was unable to provide training rosters or training ... read more view
Active 05/04/2020 Shelby County Screening form for Suicide and Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairments is not being properly filled out by jail staff and also notifications are being made as ... read more view
Resolved 04/29/2020 Zavala (Special) This inspector investigated two separate escapes within 9 days in March 2020. In the first she found, " gates were left unsecured allowing an inmate to literally walk out of the jail." In the second, ... read more view
Resolved 04/08/2020 Johnson (P) (Special) view
Resolved 04/08/2020 Jefferson (Special) Years after Sandra Bland, some jails continue to fail mandated safeguards. This inspection reveals that Jefferson County failed the 30 minute welfare checks. The jail's negligence resulted in another ... read more view
Resolved 04/08/2020 Johnson (P) (Special) view
Resolved 04/23/2020 Matagorda (Special) view
Resolved 02/05/2020 Willacy County Special This is one of the most common and life threatening violations. Mandatory face to face observations every 30 minutes of persons with mental illness on suicide ... read more view
Active 02/12/2020 Midland County view
Resolved 01/06/2020 Hunt County view
Resolved 01/22/2020 Maverick County (P) Geo Re-inspection The Inspector could not verify that prisoners have been reassessed or reclassified since March of ... read more view
Resolved 12/31/2019 Gregg County Special Lack of face to face observations led to the opportunity for an inmate to escape. Reports indicate that all but four of 29 employees at Gregg County’s South Jail were disciplined after a ... read more view
Resolved 01/14/2020 Victoria County When a reporter called the jail around 2/14/2020, to inquire about the latest violations, she was told by jail administrators that it's just a paperwork issue. Not administering medications as per ... read more view
Active 01/23/2020 Bosque County view
Resolved 01/09/2020 Grayson County An 85-year-old inmate was found unresponsive at the Grayson County Jail. He is believed to have died of natural causes, according to preliminary findings. He was found alone and unresponsive in his ... read more view
Resolved 01/09/2020 Fannin (P) LaSalle Texas' most repeated violator, LaSalle Corrections, found to be non-compliant again. Despite these violations, some of which have been fatal, this private jail continues to find ways to contract with ... read more view
Resolved 01/14/2020 Jasper County view
Resolved 01/13/2020 San Augustine County view
Resolved 07/24/2019 Red River County Special view
Resolved 09/26/2018 Red River County view
Resolved 09/17/2019 Red River County view
Resolved 10/03/2018 Reeves County view
Resolved 06/13/2017 San Patricio County Special A death in custody that could have been prevented by compliance with the Jail Commission's rules. The report notes, "During the review of a death in custody, it was determined that the magistrate ... read more view
Resolved 05/23/2017 Wilson County view
Resolved 03/18/2018 San Saba County view
Resolved 10/04/2018 Swisher County view
Resolved 06/19/2019 Shackelford County view
Resolved 01/03/2019 Shelby County Lack of oversight and violations of face-to-face observations may have lead to an inmate's illegal activity with a minor. The inmate in question had 2 cell phones and meth! Who's in charge ... read more view
Resolved 05/18/2018 Starr County Special view
Resolved 12/03/2018 Sutton County view
Resolved 05/04/2017 Sutton County
Resolved 12/02/2019 Harrison County view
Resolved 12/03/2019 Hudspeth County view
Resolved 03/14/2019 Taylor County Special view
Resolved 03/18/2019 Terry County view
Resolved 10/16/2018 Tyler County Reinspection view
Resolved 12/20/2018 Tyler County Reinspection Failed This county was out of compliance 2 months earlier with 16.22, CCQ checks, and other mental health-related standards. Even after notice of another inspection upcoming, this jail still failed that ... read more view
Resolved 04/18/2018 Tyler County view
Resolved 11/22/2017 Tyler County Special A forty-one-year-old female of Ivanhoe, Texas, died while a prisoner in the Tyler County Jail in Woodville, Texas. According to a press release from the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office, she was ... read more view
Resolved 05/09/2019 Duval County view
Resolved 08/22/2018 Wilson County Special view
Resolved 10/17/2019 Bowie (P) County Annual view
Resolved 05/08/2019 Bexar County (Special) view
Resolved 08/07/2019 Bowie (P) County Special view
Resolved 10/15/2019 Bowie (P) County Special#2 WFAA Report 12/18/2019 and read more view
Resolved 10/22/2019 Hill County Special KWTX Channel 10 news reports, "[t]he inmate had attempted suicide ... read more view
Resolved 10/15/2019 Kleberg County view
Resolved 10/09/2019 Clay County Special According to one Texas law firm representing people across the state for police and jailer misconduct injury cases,  face-to-face observation checks of a man found dead in the jail had not been made ... read more view
Resolved 03/07/2018 Crosby County Special view
Resolved 06/29/2018 Crosby County Reinspect view
Resolved 02/14/2018 Bosque County view
Resolved 12/03/2018 Bowie (P) County view
Resolved 04/09/2018 Comanche County view
Resolved 04/24/2018 Hardin County view
Resolved 04/16/2018 Hill County view
Resolved 04/18/2018 Hunt County view
Resolved 10/15/2018 Jasper County Reinspect view
Resolved 11/17/2017 Goliad County view
Resolved 08/23/2018 Harris County Special A Harris County inmate locked up on a pair of misdemeanor charges died after hanging herself inside a jail cell, marking this jail's fifth apparent suicide in less than a two-year span. Read the full ... read more view
Resolved 09/03/2019 Anderson County view
Resolved 03/09/2017 Angelina County view
Resolved 10/17/2018 Brewster County view
Resolved 09/18/2017 Brooks County view
Resolved 11/15/2018 Calhoun County view
Resolved 05/07/2019 Camp County view
Resolved 11/14/2017 Cass County view
Resolved 06/03/2019 Coleman County view
Resolved 09/19/2017 Collingsworth County view
Resolved 04/10/2019 Cottle County view
Resolved 12/14/2018 Crockett County view
Resolved 12/05/2017 Culberson County (Special) view
Resolved 06/04/2019 Dawson County view
Resolved 07/10/2017 Duval view
Resolved 10/23/2017 Edwards County view
Resolved 10/30/2017 El Paso County Attorneys representing victims of jailer and police misconduct report that two (2)  jailers from the jail in El Paso, Texas, were arrested in connection with the custodial death of prisoner Roberto ... read more view
Resolved 06/06/2017 El Paso County After reviewing the 30 minute face-to-face observation logs for inmates in the holding and detoxification cells at the Downtown Jail, there were numerous occasions where facility personnel exceeded ... read more view
Resolved 07/12/2019 Falls County (Special) An inmate took pictures of himself and posted them directly to his Facebook page while in custody at the Falls County Jail. I'm not sure which is worse, the inmate for "bragging" on facebook ... read more view
Resolved 01/30/2019 Fannin (P)(LaSalle) view
Resolved 12/19/2018 Fannin (P)(LaSalle) Death in custody, LaSalle (P) under investigation. Again. Tonya Eisner of WFAA Dallas/Fort Worth has been following LaSalle and these unaccountable deaths in ... read more view
Resolved 04/06/2017 Fisher County view
Resolved 09/20/2018 Fisher County view
Resolved 10/16/2018 Gray County view
Resolved 11/26/2018 Harris County After a death in custody 3 months earlier, a team of 5 inspectors returned to inspect. Their only findings of non-compliance were on sanitation and food ... read more view
Resolved 10/01/2018 Houston County Special A Houston County jail Inmate escaped when he had been assigned to work in the kitchen as a trustee. On the day of escape, he literally walked off from the jail while preparing and serving ... read more view
Resolved 10/08/2019 Houston County view
Resolved 10/03/2018 Houston County view
Resolved 06/05/2017 Hudspeth County view
Resolved 10/17/2017 Jefferson County According to a North Texas law firm, the individual who died in custody was not included in the report. More ... read more view
Resolved 06/13/2018 Johnson County (P) La Salle TJP Policy Fellow, Kevin Garrett found that LaSalle had been sued for the very violations found here - medical grievances not being answered and substandard medical care. Read more on the read more view
Resolved 09/18/2018 Karnes County (P) Geo SUICIDE SUSPECTED in JAILED DEPUTY's Death Another private jail, Geo, failed to properly supervise and conduct face-to-face observation which contributed to this suicide. “That’s their ... read more view
Resolved 06/26/2019 Kaufman County Special A North Texas law firm reports that the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department filed a custodial death report with Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, regarding the death of Elmer Dale Barrett. Mr. ... read more view
Resolved 05/22/2019 Kinney County view
Resolved 11/20/2017 Lamb County view
Resolved 09/25/2019 Liberty County (P) Geo Special view
Resolved 04/23/2018 Liberty County (P) Geo Geo, another private jail in Texas, fails the CCP 16.22 checks as often as La Salle. Despite repeated violations for failing to properly identify individuals with mental health needs, the private ... read more view
Resolved 08/14/2018 Limestone County (P) LaSalle Special view
Resolved 06/19/2019 Limestone County (P) LaSalle view
Resolved 09/11/2017 Limestone County (P) LaSalle view
Resolved 10/10/2017 Live Oak County view
Resolved 09/06/2019 San Jacinto County view
Resolved 06/28/2019 Liberty County (P) Geo Reinspect view
Resolved 11/14/2018 Van Zandt County view
Resolved 11/13/2019 Cameron County Cameron Co. Sheriff Omar Lucio blames their latest non-compliance on "different inspectors, some with different levels of experience, as well as changing laws." There is really no excuse for ... read more view
Resolved 08/13/2018 McLennan County (P) Jack Harwell view
Resolved 11/13/2018 McLennan County (P) Jack Harwell Special view
Resolved 10/07/2019 Madison County view
Resolved 04/24/2019 Maverick County (P) Geo view
Resolved 08/08/2019 Culberson County (Special) view
Resolved 10/10/2019 Milam County view
Resolved 09/04/2019 Nolan County view
Resolved 03/29/2019 Parker County Discrepancy in Parker County News Story! The jail administrator reported that it has a contractual agreement with their LMHA. However, Krish Gundu learned from Texas' Health & Human Services ... read more view
Resolved 10/17/2017 Pecos County view
Resolved 10/14/2019 Crockett County view
Resolved 09/18/2019 Dallam County view
Resolved 04/20/2018 Jasper County view
Resolved 05/02/2014 Falls County Jail May 2nd 2014 - April 2nd 2017. Inspection reports acquired as part of a Public Information Request by Texas Jail Project. ... read more view
Resolved 05/23/2013 Falls County Jail Reports from Jan 2000-May 2013 acquired as part of a Public Information Request by ... read more view
Resolved 02/22/2018 Falls County Jail view
Resolved 06/19/2018 Falls County view
Resolved 04/22/2019 Zavala County view
Resolved 03/20/2019 Washington County Special view
Resolved 12/19/2018 Waller County Jail Waller County Jail keeps failing inspections but the county does nothing to fire Sheriff Glenn Smith. He should have been relieved from his position years ago when Sandra Bland died here and he tried ... read more view
Resolved 12/12/2018 Victoria County Jail Victoria County Jail is the reason Texas Jail Project came into being. Diane Wilson was held here for over three months in 2005-2006. 21 year old Shandra Williams gave birth alone in a solitary cell ... read more view
Resolved 04/03/2019 Smith County Jail Interesting that the inspection was conducted from the 1st to the 3rd of April 2019 and only one violation listed. Either this a great jail or...no it's not. Texas Jail Project receives many ... read more view
Resolved 04/12/2019 Runnels County view
Resolved 06/26/2018 Robertson County Repeated inspections. Repeated violations. And still no remediation as of May 9th ... read more view
Resolved 10/26/2018 Robertson County Reinspection view
Resolved 02/28/2019 Robertson County view
Resolved 03/25/2019 Polk County view
Resolved 03/11/2019 McLennan - P (Jack Harwell Detention Center) Texas Jail Project receives so many emails and phone calls about this jail which is operated by La Salle Southwest Corrections. In the 2019 session of the Texas Legislature, HB 2467 and HB 3775 were ... read more view
Resolved 01/30/2019 Maverick (P) Eagle Pass Correctional Facility It's a jail run by the GEO Group. See this news item of a custody death in January of 2019. ... read more view
Resolved 10/06/2017 Kinney County Special This report has stayed on the Commission's site for a year and a half ... read more view
Resolved 05/29/2018 Kinney County This jail has been on the non-compliant list for almost a year now. And no signs that they are working on fixing any of the violations listed in the ... read more view
Resolved 10/16/2018 Jim Hogg view
Resolved 03/27/2019 Jefferson County view
Resolved 02/25/2019 Hunt County view
Resolved 04/11/2019 Haskell P - Rolling Plains Detention Center Very disturbing violations that were found back on September 8th 2018 and have not been remedied. TB plan is out of date and 38 NFPA violations give us great cause for ... read more view
Resolved 03/04/2019 Harrison County Two days before uploading this report, a TJP staffer had a disturbing conversation with a middle-aged woman who was held in the suicide watch cell in this county jail for more than two weeks. In all ... read more view
Resolved 04/23/2019 Hardin County view
Resolved 12/05/2018 Goliad County This jail has stayed on the non-compliant list for more than 6 months ... read more view
Resolved 05/11/2018 Frio County view
Resolved 03/13/2019 Freestone County view
Resolved 04/17/2019 Falls County Special This was the second inspection conducted within three weeks of the first inspection which showed 14 serious violations. Executive Director of the Jail Commission called out the Sheriff on the ... read more view
Resolved 04/10/2019 Coryell County Wrongful death lawsuit against two Coryell County jailers set for next ... read more view
Resolved 04/24/2019 Callahan County view
Resolved 04/16/2019 Bowie County view
Resolved 02/19/2019 Bexar County view
Resolved 02/12/2019 Harris County view
Resolved 04/22/2019 Liberty County Jail When officials addressed the violations that led to the failed inspection, at the recent quarterly meeting of the Jail Commission in Austin, they kept saying, "We are not perfect!" It's a sad joke ... read more view
Resolved 03/22/2019 Falls County "Not fit to house a dog!" That's how the Falls County Jail has been described unofficially by the Jail Commission. On March 12th 2019, we received an anonymous phone call from an employee at the ... read more view
Resolved 04/12/2017 Maverick County view
Resolved 04/13/2017 Kinney County view
Resolved 09/28/2016 Houston County view
Resolved 09/20/2016 Hopkins County view
Resolved 03/22/2017 Frio County view
Resolved 04/24/2017 Falls County view
Resolved 03/16/2017 El Paso County view
Resolved 09/12/2016 Edwards County view
Resolved 04/10/2017 Duval County view
Resolved 03/27/2017 Dimmit County view
Resolved 10/18/2018 Dallas County view
Resolved 03/20/2017 Bosque County view
Resolved 11/17/2016 Yoakum County view
Resolved 04/21/2017 Wise County view
Resolved 10/12/2016 Wheeler County view
Resolved 03/21/2017 Waller County view
Resolved 08/15/2016 Van Zandt County view
Resolved 09/16/2016 Trinity County view
Resolved 09/15/2016 Sutton County view
Resolved 03/21/2016 Stephens County view
Resolved 01/04/2017 San Patricio County view
Resolved 02/17/2017 San Saba County view
Resolved 09/15/2016 San Jacinto County view
Resolved 03/01/2017 Red River County view
Resolved 03/23/2017 Reagan County view
Resolved 09/20/2016 Pecos County view
Resolved 03/30/2017 Nueces County view
Resolved 04/14/2017 Baylor County view
Resolved 04/19/2017 Bastrop County view
Resolved 03/09/2017 Angelina County view