FREESTONE COUNTY, TX — The Freestone County Sheriff's Office will no longer house inmates at the Freestone County Jail due to a "severe shortage of manpower and trained jail staff."
According to the sheriff's office, they said they have no other choice but to house all of their jail population to the Limestone County Jail. This was a recommendation made by the State Jail Commission.
Sheriff Jeremy Shipley said he will not allow the safety, security and welfare of any officer or inmate to be compromised due to a lack of manpower and properly trained staff.
The Freestone County Sheriff's Office and the Limestone County Sheriff's Office already have an agreement in place, and have for many years, where Limestone County houses all of their overflow inmates. The Freestone County Jail was built to only house 43 people.
Officials said the course of action is not new to the two agencies.
There will be changes in many procedures regarding arrests, magistrations, transports, court docks and etc. The adjustment will take some time.
It will have an effect on other county agencies and offices and how they operate, according to the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Shipley said he cannot jeopardize anyone's safety and security due to staffing issues.
"We are very hopeful that this is a temporary or short term solution and we are able to employ the necessary jail staff and get them trained properly in order to begin housing our county inmates again," said Shipley.
