Problems at the Harris County Jail - What's Your Point?

HOUSTON - Over the past two years folks in Harris County have borne witness to an undeniable fact - that is, the societal apparatus which delivers an acceptable degree of "law and order" is a very "fragile" chain.

RELATED: Harris Co. Sheriff's deputy says some inmates roam jail freely instead of being escorted, handcuffed

When one "link" fails, the resulting impact triggers cascading, potentially catastrophic dysfunction elsewhere.
Case in point - the pandemic-driven backlog of criminal cases.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez contends the drastic slowdown has increased the average length of jail incarceration to more than 200 days.

MORE: 'We've got to relieve the pressure,' Harris Co. Sheriff says as conditions worsen at jail

That’s deeply problematic given that the documented number of violent, predatory defendants has risen to 80 percent of the population inside a dangerously understaffed, overcrowded facility.

The murder of a special needs inmate and the horrific rape of a 60-year-old Harris County sergeant has finally shaken county leaders into action, albeit both late and temporary.

While Judge Lina Hidalgo and her democratic allies on commissioner’s court say they are attacking the case backlog by funding the addition of associate judges, District Attorney Kim Ogg's plea for 100 additional prosecutors remains unfilled. 

PREVIOUS REPORT: 'We cannot afford to have these,' Harris County strips constables of savings during crime wave