Resources
Non-Compliant Jails
View Non-Compliant Jail Reports
Texas Jail Project archives non-compliant jail and inspection reports from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards for public access and transparency.
Non-compliant reports are published on the TCJS website but only for a short time. TCJS removes them as soon as a jail “passes reinspection” or “resolves the deficiency.” The public loses access without a potentially expensive FOIA request.
Retaining public access to these reports when a state agency removes them allows community members to track patterns of neglect while exposing the false promise of state oversight and reform. View the archive of non-compliant reports.
Effective Strategies for Community Safety
Studies show that healthcare, housing, addiction treatment, mental health support, and guaranteed basic income are all more effective for building community safety than more policing and prisons.
Learn more about alternatives to investments in jailsLegislative Materials
2021 Texas Legislature 87th Session
Texas Jail Project Supported HB 3447 and Opposed SB 6
House Bill 3447: County Jail Medical Neglect and Abuse Prevention Legislation
Texas Jail Project : Supported
HB 3447 One-Pager HB 3447 Visual AidSenate Bill 6: Damon Allen Act and related versions related to bail
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
SB 6 is Bad for Veterans: Robert’s Story SB 6 is Bad for Families: Glenn’s Story SB 6 Targets People with Disabilities: Michele’s Story SB 6 is Bad for Veterans: Goldie’s Testimony SB 6 Written TestimonyReports
Annual Reports on Use of Restraints on Pregnant People In County Jails
Updated April 2023
In the 2019 session, the Texas legislature passed HB 1651 which among other things, mandated the creation of an annual report by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards on the use of restraints on pregnant people in county jails.
The third report was published in April 2023. As per the report “Throughout 2022, there were 4,758 pregnant inmates help in Texas’s county jails and 111 instances reviewed in which restraints were used. These incidents occurred amongst 30 counties and 62 different inmates.”
The second report was published in April 2022. As per the report “Throughout 2021, there were 4,352 pregnant inmates held in Texas’s county jails and 121 instances reviewed in which restraints were utilized. These incidents occurred amongst 27 counties and 61 different inmates.”
The first report was published on April 9, 2021. As per the report “In 2020, there were one hundred seventy-six incidents in which a pregnant inmate was restrained in thirty-six different counties.”
You can download the entire report below. Click here to read a brief history of Texas Jail Project’s legislative advocacy on behalf of pregnant people in Texas county jails.
National Jail Crisis Report – What is Going on in our Jails?
First hand accounts of tragedies occurring in our jails by Civil Rights Corps
November 2022
Preventable Tragedies
How to Reduce Mental Health-Related Deaths in Texas Jails
November 2016
Published by the University of Texas School of Law Civil Rights Clinic, Preventable Tragedies profiles several Texas Jail Project cases and features an interview with then-TJP director Diana Claitor. Policy recommendations from Preventable Tragedies informed legislative changes in the 2017 Texas State Legislature, including the Sandra Bland Act.
Read the Report