The city has nothing to do with the county jail, but they do have a joint processing center. What reason would a Houston City Council Member have for delaying payment?
A year ago Julian Ramirez was running for judge as a tough on crime MAGA candidate. Did he have a Paul moment? Ramirez has spent half his life putting them in jail; now he cares? Color me skeptic for not believing him.
A Houston City Council member this week temporarily delayed a $14 million payment to Harris County for its joint processing center for jail detainees, demanding more information about why so many people have died in jail custody.
Citing last year’s Houston Landing “Deadly Detention” investigation that found people with mental illnesses died in county jail custody at a higher rate than the statewide average, At-Large Councilmember Julian Ramirez on Wednesday called on the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to provide more information about efforts to lower the number of deaths before council takes the item up again in two weeks.
Ramirez took the action weeks after the Harris County Jail failed its most recent state safety inspection.
“I did it to call attention to the problem and to make it clear that we’re not satisfied with the way these inmates are being treated,” Ramirez said Thursday. “The city of Houston is the biggest customer in the Houston area, therefore, most of these deaths are going to be Houston residents.”
The city has no control over the Harris County Jail. But it did partner with the county to build the Harris County Joint Processing Center, a modern facility that opened in 2019 and serves as the first step in processing detainees into the jail.
Houston pays the county millions of dollars annually to use the center based on the number of arrestees from the city who are processed there. The city and the county currently are negotiating that annual fee. Source
I still have my doubts about Whitmire. In the article, he claims that a few officers told him that it takes all day to book a person. I don’t judge based on what a few people tell me; I prefer to look into the matter if it is important. I would prefer that Whitmire do the same.
Whitmire said officers have told him they hesitate to book arrestees at the joint processing center because the wait times can eat up an entire shift, taking the officer off of street patrol. Inmates reportedly can spend more than 24 hours waiting in processing before a bed in the jail opens up, the mayor added.
Used to be old timers would tell rookies that if you don’t do anything, you won’t get in trouble. Maybe times have changed, and the officers are workaholic. Just so you know, I have relatives who have been HPD officers. Most police are good officers.