The Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice have given a good review of the Tarrant County Jail.
A two-person DOJ panel found that the jail met or exceeded standards, although it did provide some recommendations, reported CBS Dallas.
“I invited them to come and look at any component of the Tarrant County Jail that they wished, including health care, mental health issues, and how we’re running corrections,” Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said, reported CBS Dallas.
“Several practices meet and may even exceed national standards of care,” the DOJ report noted, according to NBC Dallas.
“The facilities were all quite clean as compared to the vast experience of the TA review team in assessing jail settings,” Waybourn said.
The JPS Health Network also provide comments on the jail’s condition.
“We are immensely proud of the efforts of every individual across the JPS Health Network, including our dedicated team that provides essential healthcare services to patients at the Tarrant County Jail,” the JPS said in a statement, reported CBS Dallas.
“While their commitment to delivering comprehensive and personalized care to all individuals, even in the most challenging circumstances, is truly admirable, we always welcome feedback on how we can make our services better.”
The DOJ audit did, however, recommend that the jail increase the staff, remodel the housing units, and start conducting new health checks on inmates 10-14 days after they enter the jail, reported NBC Dallas.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Tarrant County commissioners have criticized the Sheriff’s Office over jail deaths.
Some local Republican leaders push back on the criticism, and say that Waybourn has done a good job.
“Residents of Tarrant County deserve to live in safe communities. Electing radical Democrats who openly advocate for defunding the police will cause a dramatic increase in crime, just like we see in large Democrat-run cities. That is why we need to re-elect Sheriff Bill Waybourn. He is strong on crime and will keep Tarrant County safe for our families,” Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French told The Dallas Express.