Discussion and possible action to Order an election for the proposed funding of a new Webb County jail facility and authorize the placing of a referendum on the ballot for an election to occur in conjunction with the November 7, 2017 constitutional amendment election; and authorize the County Elections Administrator to conduct said referendum election in accordance with and pursuant to the Texas Election Code; and any other matters incident thereto.
Issue: Deteriorating infrastructure of the current jail facility, its outdated/ineffective jail layout design, its location in a highly populated area with major residential and commercial properties, and limited capacity causes multiple problems. The current jail was built in 1986 with a design that is now seen as a significant legal liability in terms of the ability of its outmoded linear layout to facilitate effective monitoring and needed separation (classification) of different types of arrestees and gang members. Classification and separation of different rival gang and drug cartel members as well as the separation of felonious, hard core criminal from those arrested on minor infractions is also difficult due to the types and layout of the current jail cells. Moreover, some of these jail parts and equipment (such as jail doors) are no longer made and when parts break down it is difficult to find replacement parts. In addition, the jail is located in the crowded downtown area where there is both a high population density and a mix of residential and commercial properties. Optimally, jails should be surrounded by a no or low-population buffer zone for the maximum safety of the community in which it is located. Furthermore, at the current jail facility, it is difficult for family members of inmates to find adequate parking space to be able to visit. Also, the current facility does not have sufficient capacity to allow for needed services for special populations of jail inmates, who may suffer from mental illness, substance addiction, and/or other conditions which keep them cycling in and out of the jail at significant cost to the tax payer. A new facility with sufficient capacity for standard jail medical facilities, mental health services, and other needed services would facilitate a reduction in these special populations’ recidivism and curtail their continual cycling in and out of the jail. Finally, due to the high incarceration rates occurring daily and in order to keep in compliance with strict, state-mandated guard (correctional officers) to inmate ratios, the Webb County jail must pay to transfer and house its inmates at other jail facilities, such as the Zapata and Maverick Counties jail facilities.
Solution: Webb County voters will be able to participate in a referendum to authorize and/or decline to fund a new jail facility for Webb County that is critically needed due to its strategic location along the international border with Mexico in South Texas. Along with all local law enforcement agencies ( LEAs who use the jail facilities exclusively for arrestees & other detainees), the Webb County Sheriff’s Office also works closely with all local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals and the U.S. Border Patrol, who also utilize the Webb County jail facilities and have authorized access to jail inmates (persons of interest for certain local, state, national, and international issues and cases). The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Alcohol Tobacco, & Firearms (ATF) are among the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies who house, interrogate, and seek intelligence gathered at the Webb County jail.
Result: Building a new jail facility for Webb County will allow the Sheriff to house the jail inmates who are currently incarcerated at other communities’ facilities. Moreover, the proposed new jail facilities will have sufficient capacity to provide a continuum of services that will allow certain special inmate populations, such as the mentally ill and/or substance addicted, to be able to receive the necessary treatment so that they are less likely to recid. |