Department: County Administration
Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for discussion and possible action regarding Harris County jail population, staffing, conditions, and other issues.
end
Background and Discussion:
Harris County Commissioners Court and the Sheriff’s Office have been working together over the past several years to address various issues at the county jail, ranging from changing inmate/defendant demographics to Detention Officer attrition rates. In addition, Commissioners Court has made multi-million dollar investments in the criminal justice system to fund diversion programs, a broader range of support services, and various improvements to the physical infrastructure and employee pay.
On October 31, 2023, Commissioners Court adopted the following two motions that directed the Office of County Administration (OCA) to:
• have a standing jail item on the agenda for updates and actions to ensure expeditious progress on improving the jail conditions and reducing the jail population and
• work with HRRM and the Sheriff’s Office to analyze the pay scale of detention officers to identify an appropriate scale to improve retention. The analysis should involve reviewing any studies already done related to this matter.
In the discussion of the two motions, Commissioners Court also indicated they wanted to see regular updates on the following three issues:
• Harris Health jail medical improvements,
• Joint Processing Center delays for lower-level, nonviolent offenses "referred" from HPD,
• Progress on Joint Processing Center additional hearing officers
This first report to Commissioners Court proposes a framework for the standing agenda item of a PowerPoint slide deck that includes the following issue areas (items 1-5) with the specific topics that will be covered under each issue area in that meeting’s report (items a, b on the November 14, 2023, agenda):
1. Key performance measures, data, and trends
a. Inmate Population Snapshot
b. Trend of Inmate Bookings and Releases
2. List of projects and programs underway or under consideration to address jail conditions, reduce the jail population, or increase jail capacity and their status
a. Detention Officer Retention Program
3. Changing conditions that may require a change in strategy or tactics
a. TCJS Mandate for Additional Inmate Outsources
b. Other Actions to Obtain Compliance
4. Updates on OCA and partner departments’ activities and actions since the last report
5. Presentations, reports, and studies completed by Harris County departments or third-party vendors with relevant recommendations
a. Jail Population and Case Backlog Analysis
The framework will also include cost/benefit analyses and budget impacts of ongoing or proposed projects and programs and timelines for implementing the various initiatives.
For each report, OCA staff will work with our partner agencies to ensure alignment and transparency. As the report is built out, Commissioners Court will be able to see which initiatives are most effective and re-prioritize staff’s work to projects with better outcomes or new initiatives.
Because so much work is already underway, OCA is asking the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) Jail Population Subcommittee to serve as the vehicle under which this work will be conducted. OCA seeks to use existing structures and expertise to build momentum and identify concrete projects that can be designed and implemented quickly to provide relief in the short term for the jail. Once several of these projects are underway and showing results, we will begin addressing the systemic legacy issues requiring greater stakeholder cooperation and collaboration.
Expected Impact:
Keeping a standing item on the Commissioners Court meeting agenda will keep the work addressing jail population, staffing, and conditions at the forefront and build momentum for improvements.
Alternative Options:
Keep providing ad hoc updates to Commissioners Court.
Alignment with Goal(s):
X Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
X Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
10/31/2023 |
419 |
OCA directed to prepare a standing jail item for the agenda and work with HRRM and HCSO on a Detention Officer pay scale that improves retention |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
FY 24 |
FY 25 |
Next 3 FYs |
|
Incremental Expenditures (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Labor Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Non-Labor Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Incremental Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Funding Sources (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Existing Budget |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Requested |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: November 14, 2023
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator, OCA
Attachments (if applicable): PowerPoint (separate cover), Jail Population and Backlog Analysis Report, Texas Jail Commission Variance Letter