Dallas County jail not at 'crisis capacity,' sheriff says
Dallas County jail not at crisis capacity, sheriff says
Dallas County officials are debating how to solve software problems that are contributing to capacity issues at the county jail, which is approaching but has not reached "crisis capacity" despite recent claims.
DALLAS - The Dallas County sheriff responded to claims made last week that the jail is in crisis capacity.
County commissioners also debated what can be done to solve software problems that could be contributing to capacity problems.
Local perspective:
The sheriff told us that while the jail's capacity is a concern, it is not at capacity as some claimed last week. She asked county commissioners to solve the software issues that sometimes delay the release of inmates.
Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown told us the capacity at the Dallas County jail is 7,364. Last week the number of inmates reached 7,124.
"I think it is important for people to hear from the sheriff. We have been hearing last week about the jail being at 100% capacity. When I heard that, I went to verify that information and found it to be flawed," said Sheriff Mariam Brian.
"Is the capacity approaching levels of concern? Absolutely, we are in the 90s. It is one thing to be in the 90s and another to be at 100%. We have established a number with the state that we are able to safely care for. That is our number."
What they're saying:
District attorney John Creuzot has blamed the high capacity on the county's software systems that don't communicate with each other.
Dallas County DA blames 'inefficient' software for jail overcrowding
Due to an inefficient software system that prevents the timely release of inmates, the Dallas County Jail has reached a crisis capacity, housing over 7,000 people.
The courts use a system by Tyler Technologies.
The jail uses a system run by the county called Adult Information Services (AIS).
"We know the system over here is flawed, I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking what I know to be reliable and mingling it with what I know to be unreliable," said Brown.
Sheriff Brown was asked if there were inmates being released days or weeks after their release date.
"We are finding there are people because of the process, new system, two years old now. Some people are being caught. That is why we are doing the manual checks daily. We are looking for those people. We have no desire to have people in custody who are not supposed to be, per an order," she said.
"What I need is something that will tell my system, Mr. Jones is due to be out today, Mr. Jones needs to go home. Whatever you can do to facilitate that,’ said Sheriff Brown.
"I'm not asking for infinite time, I'm saying, incrementally, in weeks or months, deliver what she is asking."
What's next:
The county has already spent $2.2 million on Tyler Technologies to develop a system for the jail.
That process began but was put on hold.
The Dallas County's I.T. director said that the county updating its own jail system will save taxpayers money in the end.
The Source: Information in this article was provided from an interview conducted by FOX 4's Lori Brown.