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BELTON â As the countyâs jail population continued to rise, the Bell County Commissioners Court once voted to contract out more space in other counties.
Robertson County is the latest county to work with Bell County, allowing the use of jail space to house excess inmates. The county currently works with six other counties to house excess inmates.
The other counties the local jail works with now includes Robertson, Milam, Burnett, Limestone, Williamson, McLennan and Comal counties.
Shane Sowell, Bell Countyâs jail administrator, said the county had 1,223 inmates in its system as of Monday morning. This included the 241 inmates housed outside of the countyâs facilities around the state.
BELTON â Bell Countyâs streak of passed jail inspections will continue as the Sheriffâs Department announced this yearâs results Monday.
Maj. Shane Sowell, the countyâs jail administrator, told Commissioners during their workshop that the inspection results were announced last week. He said this was the 34th consecutive year the county has passed the assessment despite some minor issues.
The inspection of county jails is administered annually by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, with both Bell County and Collin County tied for the longest streaks of passes.
âWe did pass the jail inspection last week, with a couple areas of technical assistance as you are aware,â Sowell said. âSo we will get those issues addressed and corrected and move forward. I am really proud of the staff and I look forward on continued success on that page.â
BELTON â For Maj. Shane Sowell, the new jail administrator for Bell County, the move to the area is both about family and about a new challenge.
Sowell, who is coming from Laredo, will take over the management of the countyâs two jails and coordinate the officers who handle local courts and inmates.
Before joining the Bell County Sheriffâs Department, which oversees the jail, Sowell worked all around Texas. He has served as a jail administrator in Lamb County as well as an inspector for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, covering 60 counties and 64 facilities.
Jeff Buuck, chief deputy of the department, said Sowell caught the departmentâs attention early on due to his experience in the field.