According to the Brown County Jail Administrator Becky Caffey, the Brown County Jail is nearing capacity and efforts to initiate the Indigent Defense Program and Pretrial Services for inmates could not come at a better time.
The jail was recently inspected and passed, meeting the minimum required jail standards set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Sheriff Bobby Grubbs commended Caffey on diligently running the jail well while facing the problems of low pay, low staff retention and managing the high jail count. Caffey is pictured above with Grubbs as he presented her with the certificate issued by the commission for meeting the required standards at Monday’s Brown County commissioner’s court meeting.
“This is for all the jailers, but Becky makes it happen,” said Grubbs as he thanked Caffey for her work despite high jailer turnover.
Caffey stated that the jail count Monday morning was 183, just 13 from capacity limit of 196 inmates, which can be lower, depending on the separation required of some inmates. This separation can be due to issues such as solitary confinement, separation of high security inmates from the rest of the population, and too many inmates of the same sex (not being able to house men on women’s wing and vice versa). According to Caffey, if numbers continue to rise, the county will be faced with contracting with other counties to house some of Brown County inmates.
Officials hope that further overcrowding can be avoided through the implementation of the Indigent Defense Program and Pretrial Services which is scheduled to begin tomorrow, Tuesday, March 4th. The program was approved by commissioners in November after the county received a two year grant from the Texas Taskforce of Indigent Defense. The grant pays the salary of its director/coordinator.
Through these programs, its director/coordinator Nita Richardson will help qualify inmates for the program which offers coordination of a court appointed attorney and low cost bonds (which will be issued with approval of a judge), and will help inmates who do not have the financial means to be bonded out or that cannot hire their own attorney. Richardson will also help coordinate pretrial services which help make sure the inmate has a chance to speak with their attorney prior to court, creating a checks and balance process of sorts, according to Richardson.
The program doesn’t simply benefit financially challenged inmates, but will help the county save money by getting offenders with lesser crimes out of jail that would otherwise have lengthy stays because they cannot afford to bond out.
35th District Court Judge Stephen Ellis explained that while the program offers low cost bonds and payment programs to these lesser offenders who are not flight risks or dangers to the public, a chance to bond out, return to work and support their families rather than staying in jail, eliminating the burden on the county for the cost of their incarceration. The cost per inmate per day is approximately $33.50 said Ellis. Through the program, getting inmates back into society, being productive, while also making sure they will return for their court appearance, are the main goals of the program.
Felony offenders involved in crimes such as aggravated assaults, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, sexual assaults, murder, or capital murder will not be eligible for the program according to Ellis.
Currently there are 20-25 inmates who may meet the criteria established for eligibility to enter the program. With these numbers for example, the county could save at least $670 per day if they were to bond out on the program. Over a month’s time, this rate of release would add up to a savings to the county of over $20,000 for 20 inmates released on the program rather than staying one month in jail.
County Judge Ray West stated that he feels the program comes at a crucial time.
“I couldn’t agree more, now is the time to get this program moving,” said West.
Judge Ellis stated that the program is designed to make sure the offenders make their appearance in court and at the same time, get them out of jail–those who need to be in jail stay in jail, while the jail population decreases.
“There will be things we will have to work through, as this is a big thing with lots of moving points. Mills County has been postponed until April and we want to start ours here,” said Ellis. “Every county in the state is dealing in one way or another with a version of this problem. I’m happy to say that we are, I think, going to see some dramatic improvements and hopefully be showing other parts of the state how to run a good program in a county our size.”
In other matters on Monday’s Brown County Commissioners Court agenda:
*Commissioners agreed to leave the current burn ban in effect due to continuing dry conditions throughout the county.
*Brown County Sheriff’s Office received approval of three employee changes. The hiring of three jailers to fill vacated positions were approved by the court. Two are full time positions and one is a part time kitchen supervisor.
*Commissioners approved the purchase by Commissioner Pct. 3 Wayne Shaw of a 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup from Mike Nichols of Zephyr at a price of $19,500. This Tacoma has 70,000 miles and is a 4 wheel drive 4-door pickup. The precinct will put two older pickups in its fleet up for auction; their expected proceeds are approximately $10,500, offsetting some of the cost of the new purchase.
*Brown County Emergency Management Coordinator Mechail Cox received approval of a proclamation declaring the week of March 3rd-8th “Severe Weather Awareness Week” in Brown County.
*Elections Administrator Suzy Young received approval for replacement of the Central Counting Judge for the 2014 Joint Primary Election. Barbara Shields will serve as the temporary replacement of the current judge, who has a temporary conflict of interest due to a familial relationship, according to Young.
