Dallas County's jail facilities advisory committee is expected to recommend $3-5 billion in improvements to the aging jail complex.
The advisory committee presented its report and recommendations at the facilities management committee meeting Tuesday.
The presentation to the committee, chaired by Commissioner Elba Garcia, estimated the "midpoint of construction would be 2032." It called for a facility with 7,200 detention beds.
The five-member advisory committee was formed about a year ago to address the aging Lew Sterrett detention center campus.
The report raises the possibility of demolishing Lew Sterrett and suggests that renovation is "not feasible."
According to the report's cost estimates, new detention facilities would cost $2.8 billion. A new courthouse would cost $1.6 billion. The deck and surface parking would add $128.8 billion to the price tag. And other costs, including the design, would reach $766.7 million.
In an April 19 letter, Assistant Dallas County Administrator Jonathon Bazan said the committee "recommends a new jail facility" and included its recommendations.
"It is essential to have facilities that not only align with contemporary standards and approaches to housing persons in custody but are also resilient and adaptable to the evolving needs of Dallas County's justice system," the letter states. "The current condition of the Dallas County jail facilities is inadequate for meeting both present demands and future requirements, and modifying the existing site is extremely challenging from both a logistical and cost perspective."
Dallas County is one of several counties across Texas struggling with jail issues. In Tarrant County, the jail has seen a rise in the number of detainee deaths, overcrowding issues, short staffing and a long waitlist for mental health beds. Harris County in the Houston area has been out of compliance with the state Commission on Jail Standards for almost two years.
Similar problems with staffing, overcrowding and violence have been reported across the country.
Earlier this year, Dallas County’s jail passed a weeklong, surprise state inspection for the first time in years.
But the annual Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection revealed shortcomings.
The jail's West Tower, the oldest in the compound, doesn't have overhead sprinklers or fire hoses — Dallas County's fire marshal in 2010 had allowed extinguishers instead. The state said to replace the sprinklers or fire hoses.
Inspectors noted extinguishers the marshal had allowed were noncompliant. So jail administrators shared a 2023 letter from the fire marshal explaining that the state-mandated fire extinguishers would be replaced with the non-carcinogenic dry powder type.
Bazan's letter noted "observed inadequacies in the jail and criminal courthouse emphasize the need for improvements to address infrastructure, safety, and operational deficiencies."
The committee also recognized the importance of addressing the needs of "vulnerable populations."
"The committee heard consistent information about the increasing population of people with serious mental illness in the jail," the letter states. "...The county should also consider the potential need for capital investment to expand alternatives, especially for people with mental illness, substance abuse treatment needs, and lack of stable housing."
Dustin Rynders with the Texas Civil Rights Project, appointed to the advisory committee by County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins, said mental healthcare needs was a strong consideration.
“I also agree with the recommendations that are made by the unanimous committee,” he said. “As a civil rights attorney it’s with a heavy heart that I recommend construction of a new jail at all. A lot of the data that we reviewed is, quite frankly, heart breaking to see the increased percentage of people with mental illness who find themselves in a jail. That’s certainly not my vision of where people with severe mental illness should be served in an ideal world.”
The recommendations raise the possibility that the jail and courthouse complex would be moved from the current location, which could have "a positive economic development impact for downtown Dallas. That would go "through the City of Dallas land use processes" for review, as well as opportunities for public feedback.
The committee recommended that the county explore options "for the sale or lease of the current site for non-jail purposes to offset construction costs and contribute to community development."
Meanwhile, Commissioner John Wiley Price reminded the court and advisory committee member, former Irving Police chief, Jeff Spivey that Dallas County and the Sheriff's Office support cite and release efforts to reduce jailing people suspected of low-level offenses.
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