The agency charged with overseeing Texas’ county jails repeatedly failed to follow through with investigations of inmate complaints, a violation of state law requiring it to do so, according a new report from the Texas State Auditor’s Office. State auditors also found that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) failed to keep accurate records of investigations sparked by prisoners’ complaints and that the agency didn’t conduct all jail inspections required under law, including one scheduled for Bexar County’s lockup. TCJS is the sole state agency with oversight of Texas’ roughly 240 county jails, and the report warns that its failure to adequately deal with inmate complaints could jeopardize the health and safety of people in custody.
