AUSTIN, Texas — On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to postpone plans for a new women's jail.
This comes after more than 100 callers weighed in on the plan to spend nearly $73 million to build a separate jail within the existing Del Valle correctional complex.
Some who opposed the plan were concerned such an investment would incentivize the county to fill it. However, proponents said current facilities aren't meeting the county's needs.
This vote delays the design of the jail indefinitely and asks staff to come up with updated plans.
Travis County began designing a women's jail in 2019 in partnership with a design firm. However, data at the time showed an overall decline in jail bookings due to diversion programs, according to KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.
But some civil rights groups and formerly incarcerated people are against the facility expansion. Protesters said in a press release that they are against the commissioner’s “master plan.”
"In the last several years, Travis County voters – along with City and County public officials – have approved a number of reform measures that have reduced the jail population. These efforts, along with reductions in crime, have resulted in the lowest jail population in Travis County since 1990," the press release reads.
Protesters also cited an increase in support of alternatives to mass incarceration.
The resolution says, if approved, that commissioners need to create a “working group to reduce the number of women in the [Travis County Adult Correctional Complex] jail.”
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