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Proposed mental health wing at Harris jail raises question of treatment priorities

Thanks to Alan Bernstein at the Harris County Sheriff's Office for arranging a tour of the Harris jail last week, which I visited to receive a first-hand pitch regarding why Sheriff Adrian Garcia wants to expand facilities. Lt. Ronny Taylor and medical director Dr. Mike Seale joined us on an extensive tour that included all the medical wings, the mental health ward, detention units and the booking center.The day I visited there were 8,820 inmates in the Harris County Jail, which is really four buildings in downtown Houston connected by underground tunnels. Another 1,037 Harris County inmates were in other Texas jails and 525 were housed in Louisiana, according to a datasheet Bernstein provided. In addition, 600+ beds sat empty on an unused floor that's presently undergoing infrastructure upgrades, though even if the beds were available they could only be staffed using overtime...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 06, 2010 (boomark / email).