County jail population rising after COVID-19 release
Two months after Hays County released 273 inmates to prevent COVID-19 spread, the population is rising again. Outsourcing costs, however, are close to half of pre-pandemic numbers.
Hays County expected to release around 100 inmates to reduce jail population density and prevent spreading of COVID-19 in and out of the facility, where social distancing and cleanliness poses challenges. They reported to have released 85-90 inmates just one day after the announcement was made on March 24.
A joint press release from all five District Court Judges announced intentions to screen the jail roster to identify inmates who were lesser risk to the community and could be considered for release.
“The goal of these orders is, thus, to practically and reasonably reduce the jail population as much as possible during the pendency of the disaster declaration,” the district judges said in a press release.
The jail released 273 inmates in a three week period from March 20 to April 13. Only 225 of them were released to the public, and of the 48 who were released to another facility, 21 were detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall.
The Pearsall jail reported more than 31 cases of COVID-19 among inmates and seven cases among staff members. According to the San Antonio Express-News, jail staff tear gassed inmates protesting and hunger striking against unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
Despite the significant effort to release inmates, Hays County Jail population only experienced a brief dip in population count and it has remained close to capacity throughout the entire pandemic.
The week prior to the COVID-19 related releases, the daily average was at 524, despite the jail capacity being 362, and recommended capacity of 311 by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Population dipped to a low of 388 the weeks of April 4 through April 18 and has risen steadily each week to 429 for the week of May 10 through May 16.
Peak jail population has followed suit starting at 5579 the week of March 15 through March 21, slowly decreasing to a low of 392 the week of April 12 through April 18 and rising back to 444 the week of May 10 through May 16.
Although the numbers are trending up, the current totals are still around 100 inmates less than before the pandemic.
Joint forces are likely contributing to the decreased numbers; Sheriff Gary Cutler announced a variety of measures the same week that would be taken to reduce the jail population including encouraging, “law enforcement agencies to practice cite and release as much as possible, issue warrants rather than arrest, requesting that no class ‘c’ be arrested and only arrest the most severe cases.”
In addition to the population who are incarcerated at the Hays County Jail, the county spends millions outsourcing inmates to other jail facilities. County Judge Ruben Becerra has been very vocal about getting to zero outsourced inmates and eliminating the expense altogether. In a letter to Hays County Law Enforcement, he pointed to a 7,000% increase from $68,000 in 2014 to $4.3 Million in 2018. In 2020, the weekly cost of outsourcing inmates hovers around the annual cost for 2014.
“This wasteful system of mass incarceration is not working, and as your judge, I am committed to putting a stop to it in Hays County,” Becerra said. “I am truly grateful for efforts by police departments throughout the county during this dangerous virus to stringently consider whom they bring into our jail. However, this prudent practice need not be limited to the pandemic.”
While the jail is seeing the inmate population steadily increase in the direction of pre-pandemic numbers, the cost of outsourcing inmates has steadily decreased throughout. The week prior to the District Court Judges’ press release, March 15-March 21, the county spent $84,592 outsourcing 214 inmates. That cost has decreased to a low of $46,496 the week of May 3-May 9 and only slightly increased the following week to $47,683.
Becerra cited a major victory in that the county has outsourced zero female inmates for six weeks in a row.