Denton County Jail to transfer inmates to Montague due to staff shortage

Housing the inmates will not impact the jail’s budget, the form says. When the 2021-22 budget was determined, $100,000 was placed in an unappropriated contingency account to be used for inmate housing needs if necessary.

The jail requested to transfer $75,000 from this unappropriated contingency to the Out of County Prisoner Expense Jail account. The Denton County Commissioners Court approved this amendment July 19.

Sheriff Tracy Murphree confirmed at the meeting the need to transfer was a result of the jail’s staffing shortage. Murphree said during the meeting that the county has contracts with other county jails to transfer inmates.

The jail has 191 vacant detention staff positions and the inmate population is growing, according to the request form.

The jail’s administrator, Barry Caver, declined to answer the Denton Record-Chronicle‘s questions on July 20, citing safety and security concerns. On July 20, Capt. Orlando Hinojosa forwarded the Record-Chronicle‘s request for an interview with Sheriff’s Office personnel. But the request had not been met by Tuesday.

Short staffing in jails is a statewide issue. A report from the Texas State Auditor’s Office found turnover rates for the public safety and criminal justice industry were higher than any other industry in 2021.

In a June interview with the Record-Chronicle, Caver said high staff turnover has been a challenge.

“We just need bodies. … It’s just hard to continue to maintain our inmate population with the staffing we’re having,” he said.