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We could find out more soon on whether Harris County leaders plan to allow for the release of some jail inmates to keep COVID-19 from spreading.
On Twitter Wednesday night, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote that he and his team are “working tirelessly to manage jail population and maintain revised protocols. An outbreak in our jail could be catastrophic on our limited local health system.”
Jail administrators must remain proactive. Jails are perfect incubators for #COVID19. I am concerned for my staff and those under my care. Standards we implement in the general community are either impossible to follow or hard to do in a jail setting. We can accomplish some
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) March 18, 2020
compassionate releases that pose no risk to the public. As proactive as I’ve been, an outbreak in our jail would spread like wildfire. An outbreak in our jail, could potentially overwhelm our local healthy system. Jail health is community health. #COVID #lesm #HouNews
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) March 18, 2020
Some places across the country have changed arrest procedures.
In Fort Worth, officers were directed to issue tickets for some misdemeanors that aren’t punishable with jail time.