Dallas County officials discuss jail transfers, election preparations

DALLAS - Outgoing Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot says a new program is reducing the backlog of inmate transfers from the county jail to state prison during the final months of his term.

Fixing paperwork errors to reduce jail population

What we know:

The program changes paperwork procedures for moving inmates from the county to the state prison system.

Creuzot discussed the program during a Dallas County Continuous Improvement Steering Committee meeting, where commissioners receive status reports on county programs and projects. 

District Attorney Creuzot said many people remained in the county jail for weeks or months after they should have been transferred because of errors made by clerks in his office and in the courts.

"Since we have taken over the process of creating the judgments, we made certain that everything is okay," Creuzot said. "We've had a few sent back, very few, and we have more people leaving the jail. So, as a consequence, you see the jail population going down from over 7,000 to, I think, today, 6,700. That pretty much mirrors the efficiency that we're showing in this process."

The district attorney’s office started the program with one attorney responsible for completing the judgments. The individual courts have all signed off on the process and now three attorneys are now working on the program. By the end of next month, the program is expected to be in place in all 17 Dallas County felony courts.

Overcoming paperwork delays in state prison transfers

The backstory:

Last year, 510 judgment packets were rejected by the state, meaning 510 people stayed in jail longer while errors were identified and corrected. Corrections that were often made by the same clerk who prepared the packet the first time.

So far this year, 167 packets have been returned. Last month, just three were returned.

Creuzot said the tracking program is working as the county continues to reduce the backlog.

Dallas County prepares for midterm election

Dig deeper:

Commissioners were also briefed on the upcoming midterm elections.

Election Day is Nov. 3, and early voting begins Monday.

Dallas County Elections Administrator Paul Adams joined the meeting via Zoom while working at the elections department ahead of early voting.

More than 20,000 mail-in ballots have been sent out. Adams said those ballots are still hand-mailed by county employees, and he wants to modernize that part of the voting process.

Adams said his department is prepared with what he believes is sufficient staff for the election, although he acknowledged there could be unexpected challenges.

"At this point, I feel comfortable," Adams said. "Hopefully, we don't get anything else from the secretary of state, such as registrations, those kinds of things. That's the only reason that I have a little bit of pause. Just making clear that if something comes down the pike that we haven't prepared for, I would have to assess at that time. But at this point, I feel comfortable with our staffing."

What they're saying:

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said Adams is prepared for the election.

"He's ready, and he understands some of the sins of the past that he had nothing to do with," Price said. "He's anticipated everything, and we expect this election to be as large as a presidential election. We're preparing, and it's all hands on deck."

What Dallas County voters need to know

What you can do:

Fewer than 180,000 voters are now listed in suspense status, meaning there is a question about their address. Adams credited political campaigns with encouraging voters to check their information, helping reduce the number by more than 20,000 before early voting begins.

Voters can still cast a ballot if they go to the polls and are told they are in suspense status, but they will need to complete what is called a statement of residence before voting.