SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that its jail has regained compliance with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS).
The TCJS placed the Bexar County Adult Detention Center out of compliance in late 2024.
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In 2024, BCSO reported 13 inmate-related deaths.
According to the sheriff’s office, TCJS officials told BCSO that the jail regained compliance on Dec. 31, 2024.
The sheriff’s office said it received its notice of noncompliance on Nov. 19, 2024, which meant the jail was not meeting state laws and minimum jail standards.
The Nov. 19, 2024, notice prompted BCSO to create and submit plans to TCJS to show how it planned to regain compliance.
A spokesperson from BCSO told KSAT in November that the technology has been fully installed and operates in the men’s and women’s infirmary living units and single-man booking cells in the medical facility. BCSO said it will continue installing the technology in high-risk areas but not all inmate cells.
The system now alerts jail staff when an inmate is experiencing a health emergency.
University Health stepped in and introduced a plan to ensure accurate distribution or refusal of medication to prisoners, BCSO said in November.
The county jail created 48-hour reports to track all prisoners who have yet to be housed and assigned to a living unit. The 48-hour report tracks inmates entering the jail and shows how long each person has been in holding without being assigned to a housing unit, the sheriff’s office said.
Reports are being shared with deputies in the classification and booking sections to ensure inmates with the longest wait times are prioritized for housing.
The BCSO Standards and Compliance Unit (SCU) is also conducting internal audits on practices regarding inmate housing assignments to ensure they meet the rules from TCJS. The SCU and the Jail Administration then review the audits.
After the new plans were instituted for 30 days and the TCJS conducted an unannounced inspection at the jail, TCJS officials deemed the Bexar County jail as compliant with the state once more.
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