The Collin County Detention Facility has done it again, for the twentieth time in a row. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has scrutinized every aspect of how the Sheriff’s Office staff processes about 19,000 people through its steel doors each year, and how it stands guard over an average daily inmate population that exceeds 900 prisoners on any given day. And once again the commission has determined that our jail has met or exceeded all of the commission’s guidelines.

Though unconfirmed, no county jail in Texas has yet been found that has performed so well since the current inspection system began in 1987. The jail standards commission can’t definitively say Collin County holds a state record for passing consecutive inspections, but they can’t think of any jail that’s done better, either.

The annual, state-mandated inspection checks medical care, food service, equipment, grievances, training and emergency evacuations, just to mention a few of the 600 items brought up during the three-day visit.

Sheriff Terry Box, whose tenure as sheriff is the longest in county history, credits the jail staff, headed by Chief Deputy Rick Allen and Assistant Chief Deputy Randy Clark, for making sure the facility runs smoothly and safely 24 hours a day. The 412,227-square foot detention facility is staffed by more than 340 people – from cooks to clerks to medical staff to detention officers and deputies. It also includes a support staff to transport prisoners awaiting trial in more than a dozen misdemeanor and felony courts.

The Sheriff’s Office has more information on the philosophy and methods in running the Collin County Detention Facility.

Click on thumbnails to view larger image.

The counter in Booking.		One of the clusters of jail cells.
County inmates, whose jumpsuits are color-coded according to classification, move down a hallway.		The main jail control room.
Collin County Juvenile Detention facility.		A view of the Sheriff’s detention facility.

View Past Features