Jim Wells County considers jail expansion as overcrowding persists
Jim Wells County's 80-bed jail sometimes holds 90 inmates, and Sheriff Guy Baker says expansion could cost $15 million to $20 million.
Jim Wells County is weighing whether to expand its jail in Alice as overcrowding keeps pushing the facility past its limits, and Sheriff Guy Baker says fixing the problem could cost between $15 million and $20 million. The choice now facing county leaders is whether to pay for a major construction project, keep sending inmates elsewhere, or try smaller upgrades while the bills keep growing.
Sheriff Daniel Bueno has said the Jim Wells County Jail has 80 beds but sometimes holds 87 to 90 inmates. County documents list the jail at 300 N. Almond in Alice, Texas 78332, where it houses both male and female inmates, and show an average daily population of 80 over the previous 12 months. When the jail reached capacity, the county entered into an agreement for inmate housing, a sign that the crowding problem is already affecting daily operations rather than sitting on a future wish list.
The price of that strain is showing up in the budget. One Jim Wells County commissioner said inmate housing and transport costs had already topped $100,000 this year. In a separate discussion, county officials were dealing with a nearly $1 million inmate transport bill they said they were unaware of. Those expenses come on top of the logistical burden of moving prisoners to other facilities when local space runs out, adding pressure to a system that already has to cover staffing, security, and transportation.
Staffing has also become part of the same problem. KIII-TV reported jail staffing was down by half, and Jim Wells County approved a 5% raise for employees, including jail staff, to help recruit and retain workers. That move may ease turnover, but it does not solve the space issue Baker is now putting in dollar terms.
For commissioners court, the decision is no longer just about whether the jail feels crowded. It is about whether a multimillion-dollar expansion is the least costly long-term fix, or the largest commitment the county can make while it is already paying to house inmates elsewhere and transport them at escalating cost. The answer will shape county finances and criminal-justice operations in South Texas for years.
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