New changes at the Willacy County jail are being done to get it off the state’s list of non-compliant jails, according to the sheriff’s office.

Two inspections done in April and May found that the jail wasn’t following state requirements on inmate checks. 

Willacy County Sheriff Jose Salazar said they’ve added more jailers and started checking on inmates more.

“I believe once they come in, they'll put us back in compliance,” Salazar said.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards requires every facility to conduct face-to-face checks on every inmate at least once every hour.

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According to a notice issued in May, observation logs showed seven out of 84 checks were over the state's time limit of 90 to 142 minutes.

The inspection was done over a three-day span.

Salazar says his jailers were handling medical runs to the hospital with pregnant inmates, adding he agrees it shouldn't have happened.

“Sitting in there too long and they're not being looked after, things can happen and so we want to discourage that,” Salazar said. “And we want to ensure that we're providing that level of security check."

Staffing is an issue Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Wood said he sees often.

Wood says inmates should be checked in a timely manner

“Jails are difficult, challenging environments to work in and it's often difficult to hire a sufficient number of staff,” Wood said. “So they're always battling staffing and it's simply one of those situations where you're not only acting as a babysitter, you're performing other duties during your shift."

At the time of the inspections, six jailers were employed. Salazar said there are now 16 jailers.

The sheriff says pay is still an issue when it comes to keeping the jailers he does have, and that he hopes to see raises coming to his department.

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