"This is something that is rather unusual, that they have that many females in custody at this time," says Sgt. John Cummins, of the Taylor County Sheriff's Department. With the space at the Taylor County Jail getting tighter, due to the jail holding more female inmates than usual. It has the Sheriff's Department asking for relief, especially with the arrests from the Warrant Roundup.
"The jail, female section, was nearing capacity and because of the that there was some concern about arresting a large number of females during the Roundup," says Sgt. Cummins.
So in working with the Sheriff's Department, the Municipal Court, here in Abilene, is looking to help out in any way they can. "Unfortunately, there's not a lot of space in the jail for female inmates, so we are working very hard to try to get their cases cleared," says Teresa Borcik. "We are trying to work with them so we don't add to the jail population."
She goes on to explain, "When someone has either a warrant or a citation that's not in warrant, when they come in, we try to assist them in taking care of it."
So does that mean a female with a warrant gets a free pass?
"We don't ever want to just let somebody walk away," says Borcik. She adds that in spite of the crowded situation, the jail is still taking female inmates that the City Marshalls take out there.
As for the growing crowd behind bars, Sgt. Cummins says the jail is still able to handle everything. "They always maintain enough staff where they have that covered, even when the numbers are like they are now."
