Number of outsourced inmates falls

The number of Hays County inmates overall, and in other counties’ jails, is lower than it has been since Jan. 27, when Sheriff Gary Cutler began providing inmate statistics to the Hays County Commissioners Court.

For the week of Feb. 17-23, the sheriff’s report stated, the average population was 476 inmates, with a peak of 478 on Feb. 17. The county outsourced an average of 153 male inmates and 10 female inmates in four different counties — Burnet, Caldwell, McClennan and Limestone — at a cost of $55,389.

The week of Jan. 27-Feb. 3, when County Judge Ruben Becerra began providing the jail data publicly in court, the jail’s average population was 537, with a peak population of 545. The county had outsourced 192 male inmates and 12 female inmates to six counties — Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Falls, McClennan and Limestone — at a cost of $68,258.

Currently, the Hays County Jail’s maximum capacity is 362 beds. However, Texas Jail Standards recommends that 10 percent of a facility’s capacity remain open, meaning the county jail has room for 311 inmates.

Cutler has said that once the new jail expansion is complete, the state estimates Hays County will have a maximum capacity of 603 beds, but specialty housing and the 10 percent availability requirement will leave the jail with 472 beds. Cutler expressed hope that additional courts and a criminal justice commission formed at the county level will alleviate the outsourcing of inmates.