county jails

Jail dominates Harris County Sheriff budget whether candidates acknowledge reality or not

Scott Henson
March 21, 2012 01:02

Big Jolly has posted a hagiography candidate interview featuring Louis Guthrie, the GOP frontrunner to challenge Adrian Garcia for Harris County Sheriff, who Jolly declares is "a natural born leader," adding that he "couldn’t blame [Guthrie] if he thought I had a man-crush on him."With Jolly...

Beaumont Enterprise argues both sides of recording confidential attorney-client communications in jail

Scott Henson
March 20, 2012 22:15

There's an odd editorial in the Beaumont Enterprise about the Galveston County Jail ending its policy of taping inmate-attorney phone conversations. According to the Houston Chronicle, "Defense attorneys say the practice is common statewide." The Enterprise opines against the practice, favoring...

Secure Communities boosts otherwise declining jail populations

Scott Henson
March 18, 2012 14:04

The Austin Statesman's Dave Harmon has one of the better articles I've seen ("Undocumented immigrants in jail: Who gets deported?," March 18) detailing how the federal "Secure Communities" program - which IDs undocumented immigrants in jail for deportation - actually operates on the ground in...

TPPF: 'Public Safety and Cost Control Solutions for Texas County Jails'

Scott Henson
March 08, 2012 21:08

The title of the latest policy brief (pdf) from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative Austin-based think tank, is "Public Safety and Cost Control Solutions for Texas County Jails." Their recommendations touch on many themes that will be familiar to Grits readers, including:Reexamine...

'The Harris County Jail: The Largest Mental Health Provider in Texas'

Scott Henson
March 01, 2012 15:12

Via press release, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia tomorrow morning will address a subject I think few Texans are aware of: That the Harris County Jail is "The Largest Mental Health Provider in Texas." Media are invited to the event.