Brazos County Sheriff's Office cites lowest inmate population since 2023

Brazos County has recorded its lowest inmate population and faster state sentencing rates since 2023, according to a report from the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office.

The gist

Chief Deputy of Corrections Kevin Stuart gave the Brazos County Commissioners Court an overview of the declining total number of inmates, along with a comparison showing that the Brazos County inmate population is not growing at the state level and that the number of state-sentenced inmates is declining. Stuart said he attributed the lowest inmate population since 2023 and the 6.8% decrease in population and state-sentenced inmates to the collaborative efforts of county departments and new processes of the district clerk’s office.

“That number looks good, but it’s directly related to a large cost avoidance,” Stuart said. “We also attribute some of the declines to the public defender's office. They have been very efficient and have taken on more cases.”

Stuart said the county has also been able to close a dormitory for inmates because of the declining population, which would help save taxpayer dollars. 

“That alone is tremendous to us because it helps us reduce overtime,” Stuart said. 

As previously reported by Community Impact, the court has been implementing programs for inmates with particular offenses, such as DWI.

The takeaway

The court thanked Stuart for the presentation and praised the collaboration between departments. Stuart said Brazos County is one of the 90 counties in Texas with a declining inmate population, but the state is still hovering around a 2% increase overall.