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Dallas jail passes state standards inspection after unannounced visit

Dallas County Sheriff's Office staff informed Commissioners Court that the Dallas County jail passed the Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection during a visit Jan. 13-15.
Marina Trahan Martinez
Dallas County Sheriff's Office staff informed Commissioners Court that the Dallas County jail passed the Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection during a visit Jan. 13-15.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has given Dallas County's jail a passing inspection — with no notes for corrective action.

Despite a clean report, Sheriff Marian Brown said she plans to keep improving jail operations.

"We continue to look at what it is that we do every day and always evaluate if there are opportunities for us to improve on what it is that we are doing."

State commission inspectors visited the jail January 13th through the 15th.

Commission Deputy Director Tim Armstrong said in a statement that no corrective action was noted in his review, which is uncommon, “especially a jail of this size.”

The last year the jail failed inspection was 2022, following COVID-19 pandemic challenges.

Brown said correcting notes from the last inspection was a goal, but she also prioritized using record-keeping systems effectively and paying close attention to daily procedure, she said.

"They include the paperwork, things like classification of inmates, also medical paperwork and how that process takes place," she said. "This is why we are trying to make sure that our processes are all being brought up to date. Because we want to work smarter and not have to work harder...That means that we're not having to literally take steps one direction and then take steps back another direction in some processes."

Officers don't have to go back and forth because the jail uses radio Frequency Identification ankle and wrist bands track inmates — which saves them time doing checks and headcounts.

A new electronic system that helps the jail and courts communicate is also in development.

Inspections generally happen annually and include checks on sanitation and health, food and rehabilitation services, among others.

Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.

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Marina Trahan Martinez is KERA's Dallas County government accountability reporter. She's a veteran journalist who has worked in the Dallas area for many years. Prior to coming to KERA, she was on The Dallas Morning News Watchdog investigative and accountability team with Dave Lieber. She has written for The New York Times since 2001, following the 9/11 attacks. Many of her stories for The Times focused on social justice and law enforcement, including Botham Jean's murder by a Dallas police officer and her subsequent trial, Atatiana Jefferson's shooting death by a Fort Worth police officer, and protests following George Floyd's murder. Marina was part of The News team that a Pulitzer finalist for coverage of the deadly ambush of Dallas police officers in 2016.