Overcrowded Houston Jail Sends Inmates To Beaumont

HOUSTON (AP) — About 100 inmates at the overcrowded Harris County jail in Houston will be transferred to a detention center in Beaumont.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office announced Monday night that the inmates being moved to Jefferson County have all been sentenced to prison in state units. They'll eventually be transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

National standards recommend maintaining a jail population at no greater than 95 percent of the Harris County facility's total capacity. That limit of about 9,400 inmates was reached Monday, forcing the transfer with costs to be paid by Harris County.

Harris County authorities in 2009 also reached overcrowding limits and transferred inmates to other jails in Texas and Louisiana.