Several East Texas jails do not pass minimum standards

EAST TEXAS — A recent look at conducted state jail inspections, reveals three East Texas jails did not pass the minimum standards of state reviews. According to our news partner KETK, 21 jails currently do not meet minimum standards set by the state. Cass, Cherokee, Harrison, and Marion County are below acceptable status. The jail commission said, jails are placed on the non-compliant list once county officials receive notice of non-compliance, said information from the jail commission. Jails are removed from the list after the problems are corrected.

CASS COUNTY
The jail was inspected on Nov. 19. Inspectors found:
A generator did not work when power was disconnected
Tests of the generator were not conducted from January to October 2020
Repairs to a fire alarm system had not been made
Staff had not been trained on classification duties
Staff did not always observe inmates as required
Staff did not document that inmates were receiving recreation time

HARRISON COUNTY
The jail was inspected on Dec. 15-16. Inspectors found:
Records did not indicate that inmates were given medicine as required by a physician
The staff stopped an inmate’s medicine of 10 days after only seven days
The staff exceeded requirements of checking on inmates by up to 22 minutes
The staff did not document that it was doing face-to-face check of inmates as required

CHEROKEE COUNTY
The jail was inspected on Oct. 15. Inspectors found:
The assessment of inmates did not always take place quick enough or often enough
The jail had mold in a shower, no working water in some sinks, low hot water pressure in some sinks
There were holes in a wall
Lights were out in some places
An intercom was broken
Mold was in a food walk-in cooler
Food was on the floor of a walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer
Bedding was on the floor of a laundry room and trash and clothes were behind washers and dryers
Staff did not document that inmates were receiving recreation time

MARION COUNTY
The jail was inspected on Dec. 18. Inspectors found:

Staff had not completed classification training
An audit of the classification system had not been conducted
Staff did not document that inmates were receiving recreation time