For the eighth straight time, the Dallas County Jail has failed its state inspection and on Friday, jail commissioners explained why.
At first glance, it seemed like disappointing news for the Dallas County commissioners.
They spent 15 minutes listening to a team of six state inspectors report their findings following five days of scrutinizing conditions at the prison.
The big holdup, preventing a passing grade, is updating the outdated smoke ventilation system, they said. It is still being retrofitted in the north tower to bring it up to code.
Also, three top-ranking officers in the sheriff's department were found to not have a jailer's license.
It is a must-have for supervising jail operations. They have all been told they have one year to get a permanent license.
Finally, some prisoners at the jail are spending more time in lock-down than their disciplinary action calls for.
"The hardest thing is to get everyone on board to see that it takes all of us to make a difference. Some of the things the other cities have said is that they don't have that kind of cooperation," said Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
She was referring to how much work has gone into updating the smoke ventilation system that was not up to code.
The sheriff and the county commissioners now say they are looking forward to the inspectors returning in June, when they can finally show off that retrofitted ventilation system. Then, as the inspectors confirm, they can get that long-awaited passing grade.
The state inspectors were complimentary of the commissioners and the jail itself, saying once that retrofit is done, this jail, with more than 6,000 prisoners, will not only be a model for the rest of the jails in Texas but those all across the country.
E-mail: cvega@wfaa.com
