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Hays County will use expanded citation authority to relieve jail overcrowding

After the Legislature approved new authority in 2007 to give citations instead of arresting for petty misdemeanors - a move aimed at giving counties new tools to react to rising costs of jail overcrowding - only a handful of agencies initially embraced the idea. Increasingly, though, realities of jail overcrowding are trumping political concerns and even relatively conservative jurisdictions are beginning to issue citations for nonviolent B misdemeanors.According to the Austin Statesman, the Hays County Sheriff (south of Austin) will begin using the citation authority created in 2007 as a stopgap while Sheriff Tommy Ratliff pushes a new jail: "Ratliff said his office's new program to cite and release offenders for some Class B misdemeanors such as criminal mischief is aimed at" bringing the number of prisoners down...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on June 15, 2009 (boomark / email).