Tag Archives: jails

Our bail policies are unjust, costly, and stupid

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Any questions about how I really feel? “The numbers clearly tell the story: More than three-fourths of the people in Harris County Jail haven’t been convicted of crime, and the majority of them are sitting in jail simply because they … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The Harris County bonds

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Courtesy of Mike Morris at the Chron. It’s an open secret of local politics that, when Harris County needs voter approval for big projects, they turn not to suburban county residents but to those in the city of Houston’s urban … Continue reading →

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It’s not just bail reform that we need

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The latest from Emily dePrang at the Observer: It’s a Monday morning, a little past 9:00. Half an hour ago, this hallway on the eighth floor of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in downtown Houston was swarmed with people. … Continue reading →

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Ground broken on the joint processing center

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The majority of suspects arrested by Houston police get booked at one of two city jails, and within 48 hours they are transferred and booked in all over again at the Harris County Jail. Two years from now, officials … Continue reading →

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More jail troubles

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly, both in content and in timing for Adrian Garcia. Over the past nine months, the Houston Chronicle has reviewed more than 1,000 disciplinary reports provided by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Nearly half of those internal affairs investigations … Continue reading →

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No support for a jail administrator

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not without the consent of the Legislature. The idea of shifting leadership of the Harris County Jail to an administrator may be losing steam, several county leaders said Thursday after reviewing a feasibility study by the sheriff’s office. Precinct 3 … Continue reading →

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Council approves inmate processing center deal with Harris County

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Very good news. An end is in sight for the inefficient process of shuttling prisoners in and out of redundant local lockups after the City Council on Wednesday approved an agreement with Harris County to build a long-discussed inmate processing … Continue reading →

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Hickman’s “plan” for an LGBT policy

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s sort of something, I guess. Lou Weaver grew up respecting the badge. His father was a cop. His father’s friends were cops. And so Weaver never feared the police. That changed when Weaver, who is transgender, was pulled over … Continue reading →

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Chron Mayoral profile: Adrian Garcia

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the third in a series of profiles on the top candidates running for mayor in Houston, in this case on Adrian Garcia. The youngest of six children born to poor Mexican immigrants could soon occupy the mayor’s office of … Continue reading →

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Will Sandra Bland’s death help lead to bail reform?

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That would be a fitting and just outcome if it does. Harris County and the state should reform an unfair bond system that punishes the poor more harshly, according to civil rights leaders, legislative officials and criminal experts who gathered … Continue reading →

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Sandra Bland’s death ruled a suicide

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That’s only part of this tragic story. Waller County prosecutors said Thursday that a preliminary autopsy found that Sandra Bland committed suicide, but they pledged to continue investigating the circumstances surrounding her controversial arrest by a state trooper as well … Continue reading →

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What Dallas County can teach us about jail overcrowding

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Why can’t Harris County be more like Dallas County, at least in this regard? Dallas County’s jail population has hit an all-time low. That means more spacious jail tanks and fewer bologna sandwiches. If the trend continues, it could add … Continue reading →

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Outsourcing inmates again

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been down this road before. For the first time in three years, the Harris County sheriff began transferring busloads of inmates this week to other correctional facilities to avoid overcrowding at the state’s largest jail. The jail population is … Continue reading →

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Bail reform for Harris County?

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This would be a big deal. In jails across the country, including Harris County, a majority of the people behind bars have not been convicted of a crime. In the jail complex on the north side of downtown Houston, more … Continue reading →

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No more LGBT liaison at the Sheriff’s office

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So according to the Houston Press, it would seem our new Sheriff is not exactly comfortable with gay people. First, he told to his surprise at a Republican club meeting that the HCSO website has a small rainbow flag tucked … Continue reading →

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More on Sheriff Hickman

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A profile of appointed Sheriff Ron Hickman that’s long on biography but short on policy. Hickman is 63 and has spent his entire career doing police work. No step on his path has been sudden or unanticipated. Hickman expressed interest … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Hickman

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your new Sheriff, Harris County. Commissioners Court named Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hickman the new sheriff of Harris County to replace Adrian Garcia who resigned last week to run for mayor of Houston. The county leaders took a formal … Continue reading →

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Separating the Sheriff and the jail

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As Commissioners Court prepares to name a replacement Sheriff, they have some bigger plans to discuss as well. A revolutionary idea is being pitched that would reshape the law enforcement agency by removing the troubled jail from the sheriff’s responsibilities. … Continue reading →

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Jailhouse woes for the Sheriff

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Been a bad couple of weeks for Sheriff Garcia. A year and a half after a mentally ill inmate was found festering in squalor in a Harris County jail cell – apparently for weeks – Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia … Continue reading →

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Decriminalizing truancy

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is important. Senate Bill 106, filed by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would make major overhauls to current truancy law, including referring students to a civil court that hears truancy cases rather than a criminal court. Under current law, children … Continue reading →

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You have the right to a phone call

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

But it won’t help you much if you don’t know what number to call. [Harris County Sheriff’s] Deputies on Wednesday outlined a pilot program they hope will help lower the jail population by letting detainees copy five numbers out of … Continue reading →

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Still no consensus on how to deal with the criminal justice complex

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s back to the Mayor. Pushed by Mayor Annise Parker to decide whether Houston’s aging police and courts buildings should get patchwork repairs or be fully replaced, with both options carrying staggering price tags, City Council members instead opted … Continue reading →

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More on revamping Secure Communities

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Stace responds to me. The involvement of local law enforcement has always been a sticking point for me. I’ve never been a fan of the federalization of local cops for the purpose of rounding non-criminal working brown people; I don’t … Continue reading →

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Bill to reduce pot penalties filed

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. A coalition of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans introduced a proposal Monday to make possession of a small amount of marijuana in Texas a civil infraction, instead of a crime. House Bill 507, filed by state Rep. … Continue reading →

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Repair or replace?

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Consider this an object lesson in the cost of deferring maintenance. A new Houston police headquarters and courthouse complex, discussed for decades, could reach a key turning point this week as Mayor Annise Parker seeks to force City Council members … Continue reading →

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A better way to cut taxes

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Grits has a suggestion for the Legislature. Reduce local jail costs – which have been a big driver of tax increases in many Texas counties – by reducing penalty categories for low-level marijuana possession (currently a Class B misdemeanor for … Continue reading →

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Revamping Secure Communities

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Long overdue. A federal jail screening program known as Secure Communities epitomized for critics the worst failings of the nation’s immigration system, causing the deportations of tens of thousands of immigrants who had committed no crimes or only minor infractions. … Continue reading →

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The overcrowded jails of Montgomery County

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes it’s hard to be a County Commissioner. Montgomery County officials are facing a dilemma partly of their own making: What to do with an ever-growing jail population after selling off another lockup. The county’s jailers are struggling to find … Continue reading →

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Sobering center status report

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s working as planned, which is great news. When Mayor Annise Parker opened the center at 150 North Chenevert St. last year, the idea was to cut police costs and reduce recidivism, creating a place other than jail for those … Continue reading →

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Ogg proposes marijuana prosecution reforms

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I like the sound of this. Kim Ogg, the Democratic nominee for Harris County district attorney, said Friday she will ticket and enforce community service for, instead of arrest and jail, thousands of people arrested each year in Houston for … Continue reading →

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Vaping in jail

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure how I feel about this. As a way to allow some inmates to get their nicotine fix and sheriffs to shore up tight budgets, county jails across the country have begun selling electronic cigarettes. Though the trend has … Continue reading →

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Walking a mile in their ankle monitors

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire this kind of dedication to one’s office. Though she has never been convicted of a crime, Marsha McLane is having her every movement these days tracked by a satellite-monitored anklet, just like thousands of ex-cons in … Continue reading →

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Construction of joint processing center and forensics facility approved to begin

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Several major building projects – including a state-of-the-art facility for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and a voter-approved jail inmate processing center – officially are in the pipeline after Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a $305 million … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion: Still a great deal, especially for cities

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So many uninsured people could get covered if Medicaid expansion were universal instead of just here and there. Expanding Medicaid under the new health care law would do a lot to slash the number of uninsured people, at least in … Continue reading →

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