Tarrant County Commissioners approved Tuesday the collaboration between the Tarrant County Jail and a recruitment agency for new detention officers.
Officials voted 3-0 to work with recruiting agency Recourse Communications, Inc. to fill the almost 300 open officer positions at the detention center.
Commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roy Charles Brooks were absent from the meeting.
County Administrator G.K. Maenius said during the meeting that the agency has also been used in other North Texas counties like Denton and Dallas.
Maenius said that the 90-day process would not exceed $37,485.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s office has reported a staffing crisis since the COVID pandemic began.
Tarrant County’s five detention facilities have the capacity for 5,000 inmates and about 1,000 detention and peace officers are expected to staff the jail.
Local activists have expressed their frustration for what they say is lack of action to address the high number of deaths at the Tarrant County Jail in the past six years.
Commissioner Manny Ramirez said this action is not a fix-all decision, but it is still important.
“Anything that we can do, any resources we can utilize to help get them staffed up, that alleviates the pressure of the jail--then I think it's worth the effort,” he said.
Gloria Farris covers Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Got a tip? Email Gloria at gfarris@kera.org.
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