×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Texas Prison System Faces Critical Guard Shortage
by Matthew T. Clarke
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is understaffed by 3,152 guards, a 12% deficit compared to full staffing. The shortage has grown each year from an average of 8.5% in 2004. Some prison units have very large staffing shortfalls, including Dalhart (37%), Smith (33%), Coffield …
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is understaffed by 3,152 guards, a 12% deficit compared to full staffing. The shortage has grown each year from an average of 8.5% in 2004. Some prison units have very large staffing shortfalls, including Dalhart (37%), Smith (33%), Coffield …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Prisons as Incubators and Spreaders of Disease and Illness, by John Dannenberg
- U.S. Surgeon General Pressured to Avoid Addressing Prison Health Care
- TB Prevention and Control In Prisons and Jails: New CDC Guidelines, by John Dannenberg
- We’ll Lock Up Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free, by Amy Goodman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Prison Privatization Launders Taxpayer Dollars into Political Contributions, by David Reutter
- Minnesota Prison Industries Managers Ride High on Prison Slavery, by David Reutter
- UN Committee Against Torture Wants Guantanamo Closed
- $2,500 Settlement in False Report of Oregon Prisoner’s Death
- Due Process Required Before Termination from Colorado Sex Offender Treatment Program, by Bob Williams
- BJS Reports Death Penalty Trends In 2005, by Michael Rigby
- Prior Drug Use Stable Among State Prisoners, Rises For Federal Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Accuracy of Sex Offender Registries Questioned By GAO, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida Prison Nurses Net $1 Million for Sexual Harassment by Prisoners
- “State Secrets Privilege” Forecloses CIA-Detainee’s Kidnapping and Torture Suit, by John Dannenberg
- $140,000 Settlement in Death of Asthmatic Texas Prisoner, by Michael Rigby
- Rhode Island Pays $120,000 To Prisoner Forced To Eat Feces, by Michael Rigby
- $1.2 Million Compensation Package Approved For Wrongfully Convicted Georgia Man
- Connecticut: Victims’ Privacy Protection Saves Some Sex Offenders From Public Registration, by John Dannenberg
- Monterey County Grand Jury Report Blasts Two California Prisons, by Marvin Mentor
- New Orleans Prisoners Work on Judge’s House
- Civil Grand Jury Calls San Mateo County Women’s Jail a “Crowded Disgrace”
- United States Sues Georgia County Jail over Unconstitutional Medical and Living Conditions, by John Dannenberg
- An Old Story: District of Columbia Continues Overdetaining and Strip Searching Prisoners
- A Voice From Guantanamo’s Darkness, by Jumah al-Dossari
- Columbus, Ohio Jail’s Seclusion Turns Parole Into Death March
- BJS Report: The Price of Justice in 2003, by Michael Rigby
- Wrongfully Imprisoned California Man Awarded $18 Million
- Prison A Major Factor In Spreading AIDS, by Gary Hunter
- New York Prisoner Awarded $190,000 For Improperly Treated Knee Injury
- Six Florida Federal Prison Guards Convicted, Sentenced On Rape and Corruption Charges, by Matthew Clarke
- Quadriplegic California Prisoner Baked to Death in Transport Van
- Shackling at California Jury Trial, Without Justifying Need, Is Reversible Error
- Texas Prison System Faces Critical Guard Shortage, by Matthew Clarke
- Illinois Jail Prisoner Dies from Dental Infection
- Torture vs Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment -- Is the Distinction Real or Apparent?, by Metin Basoglu, MD, PhD et al.,, by John Dannenberg
- News in Brief:
- Breaking the Prison Habit, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- New York Discharge-Planning: The Term “City Jail” Includes Mental Health “Forensic Units”
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Bedding, Settlements.
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Prisoners in Norfolk, Virginia Left on Extended Lockdown, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Telephone Access, Extended Family Visiting, Failure to Protect (Staff).
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Nearly 50 People Have Died in ICE Custody Since Trump’s Return to White House, May 1, 2026. LaSalle Management Company, Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Suicides, Immigration Detention.
- Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Staffing, Staff Training.
- Prisons in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula “in a Death Spiral” Due to Under-Staffing, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Rural Prisons, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Assaults on Staff.
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Money/Property, Bail/Pretrial Release, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Treat, Overcrowding, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.

