Tarrant County plans to continue transferring local inmates to a privately owned prison outside Lubbock. However, officials aim to refurbish a local correctional facility that could enable the county to end its costly contract with the private prison by 2025.
Last year, Tarrant County began transferring inmates from local jails to the Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility, which is southeast of Lubbock. County commissioners renewed the county’s contract with the private prison on October 3 at the cost of $22.5 million to taxpayers.
In doing so, they expanded the number of open beds at Dalby from 432 to 500 for an extended period of 15 months, reported KERA. Federal COVID-19 pandemic relief money, previously allocated to low-income housing and childcare, will also fund the project.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas County has also been dealing with a capacity problem at its jail. The jail has nearly reached maximum capacity amid ongoing dysfunction in operations that county officials blamed on new case management software.
The private prison outside Lubbock has been easing the overcrowded Tarrant County jail system during its ongoing staffing shortage. The county also needs a temporary jail for local prisoners while renovations of the Tarrant County Corrections Center are underway, county staff told KERA.
Although Commissioner Manny Ramirez expressed his discontent with the expense, he said the county had no other alternative than to extend the contract with the private prison. Ramirez added that he hoped to see the county move towards a more sustainable path where they would not have to spend $20 million annually on an outside contract, according to KERA.
County officials also proposed renovating the Cold Springs Jail, which is located just north of downtown Fort Worth. The proposed plan would create an additional 384 medium-security beds and is expected to be completed by December 2024, which is when the current contract with the private prison is set to expire.
