NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Many of our area jails are overcrowded because of the backlog of criminal cases due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Nueces County jail has become so crowded lately that interlocal agreements with Victoria and Aransas Counties have been drafted. The documents allow Nueces County to send prisoners to those jails in exchange for a daily payment of $60 to $74 a head.
"When you’re having to take prisoners and go pay another community to host those prisoners in their jail, so it’s very alarming," Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales said. "We don’t like to see this but we need to be prepared we have to meet jail standards.”
Judge Canales said many of the county bed spaces are being taken up by prisoners who have drug, alcohol or mental problems. Canales also tells 3News that the county is now looking to open up a jail diversion facility to better meet the needs of those prisoners and to alleviate overcrowding in the jail.
"We could help our community by not having to build a new jail right away and I think this might hold the key some of our problems, so I think you’ll see a presentation very soon about an opportunity to create that center of jail diversion," she added.
Meanwhile, in San Patricio County, Sheriff Oscar Rivera said he’s already sent 10 male prisoners to the new Bee County lockup because of overcrowding.
He’s also looking to ship out a number of female prisoners up to Atascosa County. It's a short term solution to the problem, but the sheriff said he has a long-term plan which calls for an addition to be built onto the current facility.
"Right now, the county is looking at building a new courthouse so I’m sure our topic of a new jail is in the same plans but not in the same place," Rivera said.
"But, at this point, we could probably just add 50 more beds and it would be able to make a big difference to us.”
Both Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales and San Patricio County Sheriff Oscar Rivera said while their long-term solutions to jail overcrowding are in the works, it will be quite some time before either are open and ready for prisoners.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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