After voluntarily closing its doors 18 months ago, the Fisher County Jail is once again housing a population, as deputies were busy transporting inmates from Scurry County to officially reopen the facility earlier this week.
Keeping the Fisher County Law Enforcement Center open and operational has been one of the biggest challenges for each of the four sheriffs that have held the reigns during its short, five-year lifetime. Sheriff Randy Ford inherited the depopulated facility from his predecessor Sheriff Alan Arnwine, who — unable to reopen the jail during the pandemic — officially retired in May.
One of the most persistent issues sheriffs have faced has been maintaining the necessary staffing to meet even the minimum state guidelines, and more than once since opening its doors in the summer of 2016 the facility has closed due to low staff numbers. Coming off the cusp of a failed jail inspection and the abrupt resignation of Sheriff H.T. Fillingim in late 2018, Arnwine was forced to temporarily close the jail just three months into his appointment.
While the closure lasted only a few weeks, the jail would remain empty through much of 2019. Reopening in May 2019, the facility would be in operation for less than a year before closing again. Within days of Gov. Greg Abbott declaring a state of disaster in Texas in March 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19, the Fisher County Commissioners approved depopulating the jail due to staffing shortages.
With health and safety concerns during the pandemic and faced with difficulties hiring and training new employees, the jail has remained empty with inmates being housed in Scurry County since that time. However, with those covid restrictions easing, Sheriff Ford has made reopening the jail a primary focus since taking over four months ago.
Although it has taken more time than anticipated to repair plumbing damage after the devastating winter storm in February, the facility and its staff were ready to reopen by Ford’s October goal. Deputies transported a total of 10 inmates from Scurry County early this week, and after deputies arrested another on a warrant, the total population was up to 11 as of Tuesday.
Jail Administrator Robin Cleaveland said there are a lot of changes at the facility, especially regarding inmate regulations. She said inmates with minor violations have some 30 new rules to follow, and there are around 50 new rules for those with major violations per the new inmate handbook.
“People have been used to it being more relaxed here, but we are really taking hold of the reins this time around,” said Cleveland, explaining how much of the time the facility was closed, the staff and administration has been updating policy, training, and preparing for when the jail would reopen.
Cleveland said the revised inmate handbook took months of back-and-forth communication with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which must formally approve such policy and procedure revisions. Along with the revised handbooks, the staff is also working under a new operations plan, which has also been months in the making.
With the commissioners approving the addition of a new jailer — the funding for which became available on October 1 — the new employee is the only position currently vacant, and one Ford and Cleveland hope to have filled in the upcoming weeks.
Ford said his staff has been diligent with making sure the jail was able to reopen smoothly, and while they do anticipate some hiccups along the way, he said he is hoping to have those worked out by the end of the year. Ford said the goal will be to have the jail ready to accept outside inmates again by January