Harris County Jail

Harris County Jail
Location Houston, Texas, United States
Governing body Harris County Sheriff's Office

Harris County Jail is a jail complex that services Harris County. It is the main jail complex of the county and is located in the city of Houston. The complex lies in the peninsula formed by the Buffalo Bayou in northern Downtown Houston. While most of the complex is based on county jails serving Harris County, Joe Kegans State Jail is also located within the complex. The Harris County District Court is located just next to the jail complex.

Complex and facilities

Harris County jail consists of 3 county jails and the Joe Kegans State Jail.

1200 Jail

The 1200 Jail (located at 1200 Baker Street) opened on January 23, 2003.[1] The 1200 Jail has the administrative offices of the Sheriff's Department. The building has 603,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of space, and it has a 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) parking garage. The facility, which has 4,156 regular beds, 124 beds for the Medical Division, and 96 beds for MHMRA, is one American football field deep and two American football fields in length. 430 sheriff's deputies and detention officers work at the facility. The facility houses an inmate classification center. Each floor has counseling rooms, MHMRA examination/interview rooms, multi-purpose rooms, a recreation area, triage rooms. The fourth floor houses women. The sixth floor houses a law library and vocational rooms. The jail offers New Choices, a substance abuse program.[2] The 1200 Jail includes a large medical clinic, a dental facility, an infirmary, mental health facilities, a pharmacy, an x-ray facility.[1]

701 Jail

The 701 Jail (located at 701 North San Jacinto Street) is one of the largest detention facilities in the United States.[3] The seven floor 701 Jail has 4,144 inmate beds. The 701 Jail, originally a five-story building to be used as a cold storage warehouse,[4] opened in the late 1920s. The Houston Terminal Warehouse and Cold Storage Facility was constantly occupied throughout its history. In 1989 the county completed the planning and design stage of its new jail. The cold storage portion was allowed to thaw, and construction on the facility began in December of that year.[3] The facility was gutted and two floors were added.[4] The 701 Jail opened in August 1991.[3] Harris County stated that the re-use of the warehouse saved the county about $21,000,000. About 600 sheriff's deputies and detention officers work in the facility. The county designates the 701 Jail as a "Direct Observation" facility, where staff members monitor inmates continuously for 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.[4] In 2002 the 701 Jail was the second largest American jail, with the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department being the largest.[5]

1307 Jail

The 1307 Jail (located at 1307 Baker Street[5]), located east of the 701 Jail, was originally built as a state jail for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[6] The building was at first occupied by the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. The building reopened under the Sheriff's office in 1998.[5] As of 2010 the Harris County Sheriff's Office is leasing the facility. The 1,070 inmate beds are located in two wings. The county designates this jail as a "Semi-Direct Observation," where staff members monitor inmates in the dormitory area continuously for twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. One lieutenant, nine sergeants, and 112 sheriff's deputies and detention officers staff the jail. The jail also has the Farm Shop, a place where stray livestock confiscated by the Sheriff are kept.[6]

Joe Kegans State Jail

The Joe Kegans State Jail is a Texas state jail that generally houses inmates from Harris County serving shorter term felonies. It is the only jail in the complex that is a state facility incontrast to a county jail.

References

  1. 1 2 "Medical." Harris County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
  2. ↑ "The 1200 Jail." Harris County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "701 North San Jacinto." Harris County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "The 701 Jail." Harris County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 "Harris County Jail System." Harris County Sheriff's Office. February 12, 2003. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "The 1307 Jail," Harris County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.

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