Three criminal justice reform groups are calling for sweeping changes at the\u00a0Bexar County jail after the deaths of 92 people in custody in the past six-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n
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The groups released a detailed plan that calls for expanding programs that keep people accused of low-level offenses out of jail. The proposals include conducting more mental health and substance-use assessments during booking, expanding cite-and-release policies so police can issue citations instead of making arrests for certain misdemeanors, and opening a diversion center where people could receive treatment instead of going to jail.<\/p>\n
All of Us or None Texas, ACT 4 SA, and the Texas Jail Project announced the framework at a news conference Tuesday outside of the Bexar County Courthouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe population counts in our county (jail) has to drop,\u201d said Steve Huerta, executive director of All of Us or None Texas. \u201cIt is contributing to the loss of life. It is not something that we can ignore anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Steve Huerta, executive director of All of Us or None Texas, speaks outside the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Auanich\u2019ipiri Rojas, the fire keeper for the group Kalpulli Ayolopaktzin, burns copal, a tree resin, during a press conference outside the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday.\u00a0According to Rojas, burning copal represents \u201cunfolding of the directions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
The causes of death for the 92 people who died have varied, but many deaths have involved overdoses, drug or alcohol withdrawal, and suicide. Those deaths have intensified calls for better screening when people enter the jail and more treatment for those with mental illness or substance-abuse disorders.<\/p>\n
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ALSO READ: How Alex Birnel became organizer behind San Antonio\u2019s biggest political fights<\/a><\/p>\n The groups also want more public scrutiny of jail operations. They propose an independent board that would review each jail death and a public dashboard tracking deaths, medical screenings and staffing levels.<\/p>\n They\u2019re asking Commissioners Court<\/a>, which controls the county\u2019s purse strings and would have to vote to fund major projects like a diversion center, to declare jail deaths a public health emergency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bexar County jail is now, effectively, the default mental health and substance use treatment institution of last resort for the entire region, a role for which it is structurally unsuited, chronically under-resourced, and legally accountable for failures that result in death,\u201d the 113-page plan says.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Solutions<\/p>\n The plan is critical of county commissioners’ decision\u00a0in the fall to bring on University Health, the county-owned hospital system, to take over mental health assessments at the jail\u2019s intake center in October 2025. The Center for Health Care Services, the county\u2019s mental health authority, previously handled mental health evaluations when people are booked into the jail.<\/p>\n The change only \u201ctransferred unresolved problems to a different provider,\u201d the report said. The groups want Bexar County to rewrite its contract with University Health to set clear targets for alcohol-withdrawal screening, suicide-risk assessments and other measures \u2014 and impose financial penalties if the hospital system misses them.<\/p>\n The framework also calls for expanding SA CORE, a San Antonio program that responds to people experiencing mental health crises<\/a> before they are booked into jail. The program handles roughly 15% of mental health-related 911 calls in San Antonio, according to the report.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Ananda Tomas, executive director of Act 4 SA, speaks outside the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News Matthew Stevison, with Act 4 SA, holds a sign during a press conference outside the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n ALSO READ: North Side councilwoman calls for policing review after spate of crimes in her district<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s intended to reduce the number of unnecessary arrests\u00a0\u2014 and therefore people who get booked into jail in the first place\u00a0\u2014 and connect people in need with mental health care.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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