Tag Archives: Travis County jail
Commissioners ponder putting millions into jail revamp
If the Sheriff’s Office gets its budget request granted, inmates in Travis County correctional facilities may soon be sporting radio-frequency identification wristbands to track their whereabouts within the jail at all times. According to the Sheriff’s Office, it intends to…
Budget • By Seth Smalley • Aug 23, 2021
After public condemnation, county to rework correctional master plan
A highly anticipated Travis County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday was more contentious than usual and lasted later into the evening to accommodate hours of public comments criticizing a plan to allocate $80 million to fund a new women’s jail. Though…
Public Safety • By Seth Smalley • Jun 16, 2021
Commissioners clap back at justice advocates protesting county jail plan
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday responded to pushback from criminal justice reform advocates upset at the county’s plan to approve a $4.2 million design contract for a new women’s jail. While commissioners ultimately decided to delay the motion…
Public Safety • By Seth Smalley • Jun 10, 2021
Criminal justice reformers push back on county jail renovations
Just outside the Travis County Commissioners Court at 700 Lavaca St. yesterday, a number of criminal justice reform groups held a press conference to protest Travis County’s plan to spend $600 million on construction and renovation of new jail facilities…
Public Safety • By Seth Smalley • Jun 8, 2021
County budget office weighs up new correctional complex
At their May 27 work session, Travis County commissioners fielded a presentation on the 20-year road map for the Travis County Correctional Complex. Representatives from the Planning and Budget Office, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, and the Justice Planning Department…
Public Safety • By Seth Smalley • Jun 3, 2021
Travis County jail looks toward a more sustainable future
The Travis County Correctional Complex intends to implement a number of sustainability initiatives to reduce waste, save money and shrink the facility’s net energy use to zero by 2040, according to a presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Court last Tuesday.…
Travis County • By Seth Smalley • Dec 21, 2020
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Health care, religious leaders join call to reduce jail population amid Covid-19 threat
Leaders in the local health care and religious communities have forwarded a pair of letters to city and county officials calling for early release of more prisoners from the Travis County jail in hopes of preventing the spread of Covid-19…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 17, 2020
Travis County jail treads carefully amid coronavirus
In big city jails across Texas, both inmates and corrections officers are testing positive for the coronavirus. The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that Covid-19 infections continue to rise in the Harris County jail, with 65 employees and 49 inmates testing…
Public Safety • By Jo Clifton • Apr 15, 2020
Judicial Committee members call for efficient quick release process at county jail
On any given day, the majority of individuals held in the Travis County Jail have not yet had a trial or been convicted of the crime that landed them there, yet they cannot afford to pay the bondsman’s fee or…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 8, 2020
County leaders champion no-cash bail
Amidst an aggressive push from activists to reduce arrests and incarceration, Travis County leaders highlighted two important initiatives Tuesday as evidence that the county is a leader in progressive criminal justice policy. First, the Travis County Commissioners Court quickly approved…
Travis County • By Jack Craver • Feb 12, 2020
Travis County leaders defend bail practices
For years, Travis County leaders have touted the county’s progressive bail policies, which allow a large percentage of the accused to get out of jail without posting a cash bond. Each person who is booked into jail on a charge…
Public Safety • By Jack Craver • Nov 1, 2019
Despite high arrest rate, county leaders give high marks to jail diversion program
A majority of criminal defendants who participated in a county pilot program aimed at getting people with mental illness out of jail and into treatment were rearrested within a year of their release. Yet, many involved in the criminal justice…
