Tom Green County Jail Averaged 99 Percent Capacity in May

The population of the county jail was running high throughout the month of May, particularly in the first two weeks, when a notable uptick in jail bookings was seen as warrant roundup swung into effect.

With a total of 449 beds in the facility, the jail averaged 443 occupants between May 1 and 31, and at times was even over capacity as holding cells in booking swelled with inmates. Men averaged out at 361 for the month, while women accounted for an average of 83 inmates.

Saturdays were the busiest of the month, accounting for 126 of the 731 total bookings for the month, followed by 119 on Fridays, and 106 on Sundays and Tuesdays.

The busiest day of the month, Tuesday, May 12, saw a total of 42 inmates booked into the county jail, bringing the population up to 479, or 30 people over capacity. Jail officials confirm that there were no inmates housed out-of-county in May, and noted that a series of holding cells in the booking area do not count toward actual beds in the population. Inmates may be held for up to 48 hours in holding cells before they are “dressed out” and sent to a more permanent space.

The five busiest days for both bookings and total population were from May 11 through 15, when a total of 166 individuals were booked between that Monday and Friday. The jail also operated at above capacity all five of those days, plus three more, finally dropping back down to 438 on May 19.

Throughout the month the jail was filled to an average 98.67 percent of capacity, securing its spot on the state’s watch list for correctional facilities. Per state law, county jails are closely monitored when they reach 90 percent of their capacity and can be forced to house inmates out-of-county at rates estimated in a recent study to equal some $45 per day per inmate.

Overcrowding in the county jail was one of the issues recently brought forth in public workshop held on constructing a new jail facility, during which County Judge Steve Floyd explained a process whereby a committee sought options on managing the problem.

The result of those meetings held eight or nine years ago was the allocation of staffing and funding centered on evaluating cases and determining who could legally be released on some type of bond or community supervision and still balance the safety of the public.

“It’s the only thing that’s keeping us in compliance and not spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside prison housing at this point in time,” Floyd said. “But we’re getting to the limit of the ability of that to work anymore. We’re down to that entire population needs to be there.”