MAY 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 5

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” DEL

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” DEL MORAL MEALER 4. THE HARRIS COUNTY JAIL IS SEVERALLY UNDERSTAFFED. INMATES AS WELL AS DEP- UTIES AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS HAVE BEEN ASSAULTED, RAPED, AND SEVERELY INJURED INSIDE THE HARRIS COUNTY JAIL SYSTEM. AT LEAST 1000 NEW OFFICERS ARE NEEDED TO BRING THE JAIL INTO COM- PLIANCE WITH TEXAS JAIL STANDARDS. AS COUNTY JUDGE HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS THIS? The answers here are the same as the answers for patrol officers and investigators, the risk does not match the reward. From the physical danger posed to the poor working conditions and frequent mandatory overtime we are grinding down the few deputies and jailers who are willing to serve. We need to work with our partners to make the jail a safer and more appealing place to work and that will primarily be through a better compensation and better staffing. I plan to work with my partners Harris County Deputies Association to come up with an incentives plan that recruits more high quality candidates that have both the physical and mental ability to work in the jail safely, and to ensure that they are supported both by sufficient numbers of other officers and support personnel. 5. WHAT OTHER ISSUES WOULD YOU AD- DRESS AS HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE? The focus needs to come back to key core services in crime prevention, flood control, infrastructure, and good governance. We had a 30 year example of how to run this county in a responsible conservative manner and we still have time to get it back on track. I moved here after I got out of the Army with my husband because when we looked at the map we decided that Harris County, Texas was the best place to move but unfortunately that is not the case for many families that are moving to Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. We don’t need to million dollar consultants telling us how to run the county and create new programs we had decades of excellent conservative management and that is what I want to return us to doing. 52 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 53 52 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 53