August 3, 2023 - The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) held a meeting on the morning of August 3, 2023, and Shelby County Jail was included in their agenda for discussion with Shelby County officials available to offer updates on their progress.
Due to non-compliance Shelby County has been working since March to rectify an issue on cell checks. The commission stated the county has made substantial progress in their effort to correct the issues.
The issues of compliance were indicated to include exceeding the required 30-minute observation time period on some cell checks and exceeding the required 60-minute observation time on other cell checks.
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Shelby County representatives gave an update on their progress and current status for the commission’s knowledge. Representatives for Shelby County included Shelby County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Ruth Gonzales; Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison; and Shelby County Sheriff’s Capt. D.J. Dickerson.
Chief Gonzales provided some background information for commission on what has occurred up until the meeting. She stated the jail lost its administrator back in April 2023, and she has been working with Shelby County Sheriff Lt. Detective Chad Hooper in trying to bring the jail into compliance. Gonzales stated they have requested more jailers, and have been granted two more by the Shelby County Commissioners’ Court. She believes this addition in staff will help to improve the cell checks.
Chief Gonzales believes an old system the jail utilizes in checking in inmates has contributed to some of their issues and they are attempting to implement a new system. She said how appreciative they are of the Angelina County jail staff an their assistance in trying to bring the Shelby County Jail back into compliance.
Half of the jailers are currently not certified yet, but that is being addressed and Chief Gonzales believes they are moving forward and she stated she appreciates the commissions patients.
Judge Harbison spoke to the commission members and she said the county commissioners have been very supportive of the jail, and she remarked on there have been vacancies in the Shelby County Jail staff, just as with other agencies across the state. Judge Harbison mentioned a mid budget season increase to the salaries of jailers and dispatchers of $2 an hour. She also stated they are proposing a $2,600 raise across the board for all employees and officers.
This article is copied from Shelby County Today without permission.
As Chief Gonzales stated, the commissioners allowed for two more jailer positions, and Judge Harbison explained they accomplished that by moving salaries from two open officer positions to the jail, which will be re-evaluated at budget time. Judge Harbison feels the county has been very supportive of the jail and she and the commissioners have done all they can to be supportive of the jail during this time.
Chief Gonzales responded to the commission’s inquiry of how many jailers their are and she responded with 15, including the jail administrator. She confirmed the jail is fully staffed, as of Monday before the meeting. Chief Gonzales said the raise helped to increase the number of applicants at the jail and they are now fully staffed.
The commission stated that has helped them to come very close to being able to perform all of the required checks as required. A request was made of the commission to be able to continue to work with the Shelby County Jail in their efforts as they are very close now to being in compliance. The commission foresees Shelby County will be back in compliance by the November meeting, and looks forward to being able to place them on the old business portion of their November agenda for consideration. No action was taken by the commission, and the county representatives were dismissed.
