Thursday, May 2, 2024
Sheriff Roger Deeds
As members of the Commissioners Court weigh what to do about the deteriorating Law Enforcement Center, there is something they will undoubtedly consider along with the cost: jail overcrowding.
It has been a problem for years and the court’s current members are well aware of it.
County taxpayers foot the bill every year for inmates to be housed in other facilities because there is not enough room at the Hood County Jail.
The jail has 192 beds but a daily average inmate count of 225.
The average annual cost for out-of-county inmate housing is almost $350,000, according to Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson. When ancillary expenses are factored in, such as gasoline and vehicle maintenance, the cost is more than $540,000, he said.
Another issue is that deputies cannot respond to calls if they are transporting inmates to other counties. As it is, Deeds said that the Sheriff’s Office is understaffed.
For years, the Commissioners Court has kept an eye on the worsening situation, knowing that at some point money will have to be spent, whether to renovate the current building at 400 Deputy Larry Miller Dr. and try to make do, renovate the building and add on to it, or build a new facility.
In an emailed response to questions posed by the HCN, Sheriff Roger Deeds said that a remodel of the LEC will pose “a big problem” where inmates are concerned.
“They will probably have to be scattered across Texas” for about a year, he said, possibly costing taxpayers $4 million or more.
“The cost will be starting at probably $50 per day per inmate but bigger jails that would have space will be $70 to $75 per person per day,” Deeds’ email stated.
He indicated that a low-end figure would be a total daily expense of about $11,000.
“New construction would be the best way because of cost,” the sheriff stated.
He said that with the cost of re-housing inmates and the projected $25.5 million expense to renovate the existing building, the total cost would be about $30 million for a facility that will still be too small for the county’s needs and will require continued out-of-county housing.
