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Scandalous state of city jails unlikely to change anytime soon

Brandi Grissom at the Texas Tribune reports that "Since 2005, 66 people have died" in municipal jails that are unregulated by the State Commission on Jail Standards, 40% by suicide. She quotes a warning fromJames McLaughlin, the executive director and general counsel of the Texas Police Chiefs Association, [who] says city jails are so small and inmates stay there for such short periods of time that it would be unrealistic to apply county jail standards to municipal facilities. Plus, he says, it would be expensive. ?You?d see a lot of those [jails] shut down,? McLaughlin says.But of course, if tiny municipal jails can't operate safely, a lot of them probably should shut down. Grissom adds that:At a recent meeting of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, jail standards officials told lawmakers that city-run facilities should face more scrutiny...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on September 17, 2010 (boomark / email).