Texas prisons expand review to system-wide audit after disciplinary quota system revealed

Word of a quota system has sparked a system-wide audit. Word of a quota system has sparked a system-wide audit. Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Texas prisons expand review to system-wide audit after disciplinary quota system revealed 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The Texas prison system is expanding its review of disciplinary cases into a system-wide audit and taking administrative action against the prison captain who ordered guards at a Brazoria County lock-up to write up inmates or get in trouble themselves.

Word of the short-lived quota at the Ramsey Unit emerged earlier this month, after the Houston Chronicle obtained Texas Department of Criminal Justice emails revealing the scheme.

"I'm glad TDCJ knows how unacceptable that practice is and that they should have zero tolerance for it," said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. "We want to hold inmates accountable but we need to make darned sure that there's not some employees abusing their powers."

Officials said the broader review would entail looking at months of disciplinary data to analyze any spikes in inmate write-ups at any of the system's 104 units.

"It's a positive step for TDCJ," said Jennifer Erschabek of Texas Inmate Families Association. "It certainly is hopeful for those inmates who have been wrongfully given write-ups for things they didn't do."

It's not clear how long the audit might take, but officials said it is already underway.

The quota system that sparked it all began in mid-March, when Capt. Reginald Gilbert sent out an email to ranking prison officials demanding that each sergeant turn in paperwork for at least two cases per day.

"Effective March 10, 2018, each Sergeant will be required to turn in at least two (2) cases written by officers for a Level 2 Code 35 'Unauthorized Storage of Property,'" he wrote. "Two each day is my requirement. Remember this is to be done each workday without exception."

Any sergeants who missed their daily quota, Gilbert wrote, would face consequences ranging from documenting the oversight on an employee performance log to formal disciplinary action.

The email didn't explain the reasons for the order, but Whitmire said Thursday it was in response officers "not doing their jobs" and neglecting to discipline inmates violating policy.

In April, Gilbert sent a follow-up email, cutting the case quota in half, less than a week before he nixed it altogether, without offering a reason.

After receiving an anonymous copy of the messages, the Chronicle put in a formal request for information on April 21.

Four days later, Warden Virgil McMullen sent out a message to lieutenants and above.

"This email is to reiterate the email I had Capt. Gilbert send out on April 6, 2018. We DO NOT and WILL NOT have case quotas on Ramsey Unit," he wrote. "Make sure any and all previous emails regarding case quotas are not being followed. We will follow agency policy."

Lawmakers and inmate advocates condemned the practice, decrying the impact it could have on an inmate's chances at early release.

"Instead of focusing on the further criminalization of inmates to fulfill an unnecessary quota, our criminal justice system must focus on their rehabilitation back into society," Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, said in a statement. "Instances such as this further hamper the goals of inmate rehabilitation and unjustly impair their prison terms.

Last week, prison officials moved to correct any damage done by reviewing all the disciplinary cases written up at the Brazoria County unit during the time frame in question.

Then on Thursday, prison spokesman Jeremy Desel confirmed that a system-wide audit would include a look at figures from all units.

"If they were to find an unusual spike in the number of cases at a unit, then they would drill down into that and examine further," he said. "We're not going to look at every single case written."

The Administrative Review and Risk Management Division will oversee the examination.

It's still not clear how many disciplinary cases were written up at Ramsey Unit while the quota was in effect.