Tarrant County Jail Inmates

Tarrant County Jail has housed thousands of people from its opening and continues with an easy flow. Past inmates have reported that the worst part of jail is getting along with others though Tarrant County has a record of inmate respect. There is less fighting but it is difficult to avoid any trouble.

Staying out of trouble
Keeping to one's self and staying out of others' business keeps inmate arguments to a minimum. By doing this inmates can receive time off of their sentences for good behavior. This can be as much as half a sentence or as little as a few days. Others do this by spending their time painting cells and serving food to others as trustees. Trustees receive three days of credit every day served where other receive two days of credit for one day served when it comes to time off for good behavior. These credit can be lost if there is fighting or back-talking.

The Layout
Inmates live on seven floors. Each floor holds four pods, which are broken up into names: New Jail, Old Jail, ABC&D, and Green Bay. Every four pods share a gymnasium. Each pod has a pay phone, but usage is different in each pod. Twenty-four hours a day New Jail and Green Bay have access, while Old Jail access extends only from seven in the morning to midnight. Collect calls are nearly four dollars for fifteen minutes. These calls are screened by Tarrant County employees.

Passing the time
The hours when inmates are awake time is spent playing hand ball and basketball, watching television, and reading in the law library. These activities are available in intervals for each floor. Some blocks have more privileges than others, such as the New Jail has a GED class taught during the week. The same intervals are the same with outside privileges where some floors are allowed outside three times a week and others only once. Church services are offered by voluntary chaplains on Sundays and Wednesdays though the locations vary depending on the floor.

Tarrant County Jail Visiting Policy
Tarrant County inmates are allowed visitors for thirty minutes at a time. Each inmate has a list of five people that may visit him or her once a week between nine in the morning and nine at night. All visits are made through glass windows. The New Jail offers a visiting room and a telephone while others do not provide telephones. Because there are so many visitors it is often hard to hear over the others.

Inmates at Tarrant County are served three meals a day every day. Breakfast is served at four thirty in the morning. Lunch is served at eleven in the morning. And dinner is served at four thirty in the evening. The food is rated as average, and many past inmates have commented that peanut butter is often a favorite with breakfast and lunch. Because no snacks are provided by Tarrant County, commissary is available for those desiring more food or personal items.

Medications
For those requiring medications, a nurse provides these every day. For those who choose to abuse drugs while incarcerated, an additional criminal charge is added to their existing sentences.

While staying at Tarrant County inmates wear specific uniforms. Men wear green jumpsuits while women wear tan jumpsuits. The trustees working inside wear black and white striped jumpsuits and those trustees working outside wear orange jumpsuits.