The jail is short-staffed and detention officers are over-worked and under assault.
San Antonio, TX – The Bexar County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (DSABC) is raising awareness of problems at the Bexar County jail and asking the community to let Bexar County officials know that the 200+ officer vacancies at the jail means that both detention officers and the public are increasingly at risk.
DSABC’s new outreach campaign, “Keep Bexar Safe,” highlights the fact that there are more than 200 officer vacancies at the jail, which have contributed to unsafe conditions for detention officers, inmates, and the community as a whole. The Sheriff is using “overtime” to fill these staffing gaps. In 2019 there were a record 16 “erroneous” releases from the county jail and 9 inmate deaths. And last December, two Sheriff’s Deputies were brutally assaulted by inmates. One of the detention officers was stabbed in the face and another suffered a broken leg that required reconstructive surgery.
“This staffing crisis has resulted in over-worked and over-stressed deputies who are having to do an already tough job in increasingly dangerous conditions,” said Jeremy Payne, President of the Bexar County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. “We’ve seen detention officers brutally assaulted and a record number of inmate deaths and “erroneous” releases. We’re calling on the Sheriff to fix the staffing crisis at the jail and keep our officers and our community safe.”
The Sheriff’s mismanagement regarding recruitment has brought us to this crisis point and things have to change. The Commissioner’s Court has done their part and given the Sheriff a budget that would allow him to fully staff our jail. But the Sheriff is not doing his job, which is to fill these positions and reach out to the community to recruit quality candidates.