The Hays County Commissioners Court discussed the first steps toward criminal justice reform Tuesday after hearing a report on a criminal justice summit held last week and plans for the formation of a commission.
Chief of Staff Alex Villalobos gave a presentation on the summit, which was a closed-door event that included representatives from law enforcement bodies throughout the county, defense attorneys, district and county court-at-law judges, the bail bond board, and others. Villalobos described the summit as a “cost assessment” and went over some of the information presented at the summit. From 2014 to 2018, direct inmate costs have increased more than 300 percent and capital outlay has increased almost 900 percent, Villalobos said. The Hays County jail population has increased, as has the number of outsourced inmates as the jail reaches capacity.
“For 2018,” Villalobos said, “those numbers are getting pretty close together.”
