Safety Measures In County Detention Centers

Brazos county hold 3 different classifications of inmates inside: Minimum security Medium security, and Max security. Max security inmates are put closest to the control room for fast response in case something happens.

"Max risk inmates will never be put in the same dorm as minimum risk inmates for their safety. Generally Mediums will go either way depending on their behavior and other factors in their classification." -officer C. Waller

Briefings are held before each shift is changed on the jail floor. They go over safety measures, the sergeant goes over any events that happened the shift before, and discusses the agenda for the day.

"I perform the briefings for day shift A which is assigning officers to their positions on the jail floor, informing everyone about the events that happen on the previous shift, along with doing a small training to keep the personnel up to speed and refreshed." -Sgt Boone

Corporal Thomas is patrolling the hallway while she is escorting a visiting attorney for an inmate. She is the second corporal for the special housing unit (SHU), and she is in charge of six dormitories and the SHU. She is in charge of mental health visits, daily church services for the inmates, and escorting teachers from Blinn that educate inmates to get their GED.

"I run the schedules, and sometimes run the shift when the sergeant is not on duty, and I escort attorneys and teachers when they come to visit inmates." -Corp. Thomas

Corporal Thomas and Sergeant Boone are conducting the beginning of shift briefing discussing daily operations. They discuss med pass, attorney visits, counselor visits, and med clinics. Boone can also give Thomas other instruction on what tasks needed to be accomplished for the day.

"Whenever the sergeant isn't available, I take charge of the briefings. Pretty much I do what the sergeant does whenever there isn't one available." -CPL. Thomas

Sgt. Boone oversees 20 officers on the jail floor and is responsible for pre-shift briefings, and ensuring the general safety of the facility by setting off code reds for training. He reviews camera footage with inmates and looks over the shift logs. This facility has one officer to 64 inmates compared to the state standard of one officer to 48 inmates, but now they are changing to two officers per 48 inmates.

"We have a guardian system in this facility that is basically jail management. We check the inmates and their cells, and then log the inmate status and count." -Sgt. Boone

Dorm 4B ,"4 Bravo", is an open dorm with direct supervision that has been used since 2010. The inmates are free to walk around the dorm as they please and get regular outside time. The restrooms and showers are completely open as well.

"There are three types of supervision within a dorm. Direct supervision is where the officer is with all 64 inmates at all times in the dorm. Indirect is where there may be a room isolating the officer from the inmates with glass between them. Linear supervision is with a closed dorm where every inmate is in a cell and an officer walks down the hall to check on the inmates." - officer C. Waller

Dorm 4B and it's neighbor 4C are in the middle of being renovated and changed from an open dorm to a closed dorm. Sgt. Deputy J. Rodriguez, a Corpus native, walked us through both dorms. 4B is for the most part finished for now while 4C is still in the process of repainting.

"The inmates are responsible for cleaning the showers and toilets. The trustees are the ones that help with the renovating of the dorms. The numbers on the walls are ones that they put up there." -J. Rodriguez

Sergeant Jones is in charge of the Special Housing Unit (SHU). He reviews disciplinary behavior and determines whether to return the inmate in question to the jail community, the dorms, or to keep them in the isolation of the SHU for a longer period. Besides that, he sentences punishment time for the disciplinary by conferencing with the inmates, and then talks with them again near the end of their punishment period.

"After the initial classification, we reclassify every 90 days to keep up to date and make sure that the inmates are housed properly." -Sgt. Jones

Deputy Bowser also shares responsibility in the SHU with making files, and determining risk with the initial classification. The orientation dorm the inmates are first put it before they are put in their classification is to get them used to being in the jail. "The orientation dorm gives them time to come to terms and realize hey, I'm an inmate now."

Another part of the classification process is separating certain inmates by use of a needs assessment if applicable such as sexual assault, or a mental illness. "If a group comes in for the same crime, we separate them so that they can't talk to each other. Also, if an ex-police officer comes in, we want to make sure he is away from people he has arrested in the past. Substance cases are sent to the med dorm to detox before they are put into the community. We mainly want to make sure everybody is in the safest and best housing for their safety and others." -Dep. Bowser

New recruits ( L-R : Lozano, unknown, Tankersley) are undergoing training in preparation for the upcoming code reds. They learn how to put the air pack on and locate fire extinguishers in the area for quick access.

"We hold quarterly fire drills in the facility and ensure that every member of the jail is involved, so these happen at least once a month. I time the members on how fast they can get three fire extinguishers and one air pack to the designated area of the jail that I call a code red on." -Sgt. Boone

Officer J. Calloway is one of the officers that is in charge of booking inmates in and prepping them for release. His face is one of the many you see when you walk into the facility from the sallyport and also on your way out when you are released. They are asked about their medical situation and stripped of their personal effects such as their cellphone and any excess items they may have on them. If the incoming inmates are unruly, they are put in a holding cell until they calm down. They are then searched and showered, and taken to SHU-A.

"We always have multiple officers on hand, and if at any time we need backup, the officers from the jail floor come to help and vice versa. We are more prepared than any other place in the facility because we also have the arresting officers on hand. Also note that we are talking to these people on pretty much their worst day." -Officer Calloway

Officer Sever books in an arrestee. Arrestees have to state personal information such as identification markers, name, emergency contacts, DOB, medical history, any gang affiliations, etc.

One of the various jobs a booking officer does is communicating with agencies, dispatchers, parole, and courts about the people that come through booking. With the coronavirus epidemic, all persons entering the facility get tested in the sallyport before they come in for booking.

"Whenever you first come into the facility and go to booking, two files will be made. A jail file and a medical file. These will be updated as time goes on while an inmate is in the facility." -Dep. Bowser

The medical unit is where all inmates go after a fight, or if they are sick. They are also involved in the medical checks that happen before an inmate is booked into the facility. After fights, inmates can be sent to St. Joseph hospital if Sergeant K. Wright determines and makes that decision. They have no-touch thermometers and N95 respirators to help test for the corona virus. If anyone is symptomatic, they are put in isolation, and if it ends up in the inmate population, medical staff fill out contact sheets for everyone that has been in contact with whoever tested positive for the virus and everyone is tested after that.

"There is always an officer nearby even when we go to do med passes. Medical never pulls inmates, they are always brought to us. If there are combative concerns with any of the inmates we make sure to restrain them before giving them care to ensure the safety of our medical staff." -Sgt. K. Wright

Officer Sever gets to the all of the daily activities of the facility from the control room. He ensures the security of the facility by unlocking doors for officers that request access to enter areas of the facility. There's a button and intercom beside each door in the facility that officers push to prompt Steven to check and see who pushed the button so he can determine to open the door or not. He can also notify nearby officers or activity that happens in the facility.

"If EMS has to come in, all movement stops so that they can get in and do what they need to do." -Officer Sever

Most, if not all, of the doors that are not on the jail floor have the ID scanners to the side of the doorways, save for officers' offices which are manual key locked. This is to ensure that only employees of the facility can get in or out of these areas.

"All doors on the jail floor have a call button that sends a ping to the control room to get them to open the door. If the officer in the control room can't recognize the person at the door, they will either ask for identity such as revealing their face, or will deny them access. Officers can also radio in which door they would like opened." -C. Waller