Hays County’s criminal justice system has been in the spotlight more than usual in recent months. A Houston Chronicle piece from December 2018 highlighted the impact that judicial backlogs can have on jail populations. In February, the Texas Observer published San Marcos resident Faylita Hicks’ tale of spending 45 days in the Hays County Jail while awaiting trial for a bad check for $25. The two jail reports shared at recent commissioners court meetings have shown that outsourcing cost the county more than $68,000 for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2 and more than $61,000 for the week of Feb. 3-9.
Now, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra is working with criminal justice and law enforcement professionals within the county to create a criminal justice commission that will address the cluster of issues that have led to the outsourcing of Hays County inmates.
“We’re trying to create a commission that has all the facets and components that touch criminal justice in our county, specifically because we want to make sure that each grouping is represented,” Becerra said, noting that there are places on the commission for representatives from various sectors of the community, including mental health care. “But the focus, to be honest and clear, is to have people of the professional capacity to guide criminal justice reform and to push through ideas and suggestions that other counties may be doing.”
