County jail passes state inspection, upgrades to 96-bed facility
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Sheriff’s directive results in turn-around after 2015 failure
After numerous failed inspections that led to the closure of the Frio County Jail in 2015, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has given the county the green light to completely open the facility at 96-bed capacity.
A TCJS inspector made a visit to the facility on Wednesday, March 1, noting the jail had met the minimum standards set forth by the commission and completed the necessary repairs to house up to 96 inmates.
“This has been a long time coming,” Chief Deputy Peter Salinas said. “After a decade or more with no approved county jail, Frio County has been spending approximately $600,000 per year to house Frio offenders in other county jails.”
The facility passed an inspection in August last year that allowed opening the jail to house 48 inmates. Since then, according to Salinas, the county has decreased out-of-county inmate housing costs by half and the chief deputy projects the additional beds will continue to reduce costs.
“This has been the goal for our community since our staff took office in January 2021,” the chief deputy said. “Most important is that this goal was reached with the use of $500,000 of state grant funds out of the $1.2 million Lone Star Grant we applied for and then were awarded.”
Salinas said that jail staff are not stopping here and have further renovation projects that are near completion. Those include a padded cell for violent detainees and an indoor recreation yard for inmates.
“We thank the commissioners’ court and the county judge for allowing us to take on these projects to better serve the people of Frio County,” the chief deputy said.
The county jail was shut down seven years ago by the state commission for failing repeated mandated inspections. The resulting diminished status of the facility limited it to serving as only a 72-hour holding facility.