Sheriff Message

In a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives, but we still carry our oath to keep our residents safe. My team knows the risk of getting the virus is high but that doesn’t stop us. Our priority is to protect and serve our community.

The inevitable fact is that we are not immune and we are impacted like everyone else. Unfortunately, we have 14 teammates who have received positive test results for COVID-19. I am deeply concern as more first responders are getting infected in our region and I pray for their prompt recovery.

Within the last week, three Harris County Jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19. My team and I are doing our best to implement procedures to protect our staff and inmates, but unfortunately, no environment is immune.

This week, we received an order from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo mandating the temporary release of a narrow group of inmates with no history of violence. To be eligible for temporary release, an inmate must be charged with — but not yet convicted of — a crime that doesn’t involve violence or the threat of violence. Those charged with burglarizing homes or habitual drunk driving will be ineligible as well. The measures we are taking today will benefit both public health and public safety in our county.

To help reduce person-to-person contact with our residents during the COVID-19 pandemic we assigned more deputies to take non-emergency crime reports over the phone. Please watch the video below or click here.

File a report:

• Call 713-221-6000. Calls are answered 24 hours a day
• Visit http://bit.ly/hcsoreporting
• Call 911 for an emergency

Staying Home, Safe, and Healthy

Harris County, we made it through another week. And now more than ever, we need to be united as a community and follow the Stay Home/Work Safe order, which was extended through the end of April. Stay informed with the latest COVID-19 data from the county with the Harris County Public Health dashboard.

I implore all of you to stay home and continue to enforce social distancing to help ‘flatten the curve’. We need to stop putting at risk the lives of the most vulnerable. I know that we will get through this, one day at a time because we are stronger together.

April marks the start of Stress Awareness Month and some of you might be facing unprecedented levels of stress as we navigate the impacts of the pandemic. Our psychologist, Dr. Robert Seals, shared a few tips — from Dr. Eileen Feliciano, a clinical psychologist at New York State — to help manage and reduce stress during this time.

Mental Health Wellness Tips for Quarantine:

• Stick to a routine
• Dress for the social life you want, not the social life you have
• Be active for at least thirty minutes per day
• Reach out to your friends and family
• Stay hydrated and eat well
• Spend extra time playing with your children
• Limit social media use
• Notice the good in the world
• Help others, if you can. Reach out for help, if you need it
• Find a long-term project to dive into
• Find lightness and humor in each day
• Remind yourself daily that this is temporary

Even with heightened levels of concern surrounding the pandemic, try to maximize value out of every day. Remember, small things can make a difference.

We created this newsletter to keep you informed. And to our community, thank you for subscribing — within the last month, we have almost double the number of subscribers. Your readership and support mean a lot to us as we continue to serve and protect you. God bless all of you, and God bless the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, our deputies, detention officers, and support staff are working around the clock to ensure our residents remain safe. But it’s extremely challenging for us to do our job without potentially being exposed to the virus. The reality is that we are not immune. Within the last week, seven teammates — six deputies and one civilian clerk — tested positive for coronavirus. Please join me in praying for a speedy, full recovery.

We are working with Harris County Public Health to identify co-workers, inmates, and members of the public who may have had close contact with the diagnosed employees so they can take necessary precautions, including a quarantine and testing those with symptoms.

This week, the county’s Stay Home, Work Safe Order was implemented, and our primary goal is to encourage voluntary compliance. In the overwhelming number of cases, a warning is all it takes to inspire compliance. Violators who ignore warnings can face possible fines and arrest for those who put our community at risk. Let’s not let it come to that. We are all in this together. Please stay home for us!

Stay Home, Work Safe Order

As our agency moves forward with enforcement of the county’s Stay Home, Work Safe order, we want you to know some important information.

• Read the order here.
• Report violator by calling 832-839-6941.
• Feeling sick? Click here for the screening tool to determine whether you may need further assessment or need to be tested.
• If you have any questions please email them to stayhome@cjo.hctx.net.

Mental Health

Launched in 2017 with an eye toward the future, our telehealth program has been a game-changer and proved timely during this pandemic. COVID-19 has inspired stress throughout the nation, especially among our first responders. Our Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation Program (CORE) offers direct access to a master’s level mental health clinician from The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, via teleconferencing technology through an iPad. This allows patrol deputies to better assess mental health consumers out in the field in an attempt to reduce transports and hospitalizations.

We are equipping 100 deputies, including our Field Training Officers, with this technology. Deputies are currently being trained to assist them during this pandemic. We are training three to five deputies at a time, by the end of next week the training will be completed. Please remember, if you are in a mental health crisis, please know that you’re not alone, help is always available. Call 911 or 713-221-6000.

Today, we welcomed 21 new teammates into our family. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Basic County Corrections Course graduation ceremony was canceled but we did have a private small gathering for our new teammates. Now they are ready to serve our community. I wish all of you the best, and I know that you will be mentored by the best leaders and teammates. Serve with honor, and live up to the words on your patch, Pride of Texas.

We know our residents understand the severity of the pandemic. And everyone is doing all they can to keep themselves, their families and neighbors safe and healthy. The sacrifices you’re making are not in vain. We are stronger together! God bless you, and God bless the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

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My team and I are committed to protecting our workforce, community, and jail population against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

I want to assure our community that our commitment to serve and protect will not change during this challenging time. Every call means potential contact with someone who could be contagious. That’s why our patrol deputies have been given cleaning materials that they are using to disinfect their vehicles any time they are called upon to transport a suspect.

We are working to reduce non-essential contact between residents and deputies by temporarily restricting public access to our substations. All HCSO storefronts and substations will remain staffed — but closed to the public — as part of our efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. While you will be unable to obtain offense and accident reports in person, these services are available online. Please click here for offense reports, and here for accident reports.

We have assigned more deputies to take non-emergency crime reports by phone at 713.221.6000 and online here to help with this measure. Click here for some of the types of reports they’re taking. As always, call 911 for an emergency that threatens anyone’s safety.

We are also implementing safety measures in our jail to protect our staff and those who are entrusted in our care. Cleaning crews have increased the frequency of cleaning operations. All employees and volunteers entering the jail system are being checked for fever each time they enter the building.

We also created a short informational video for our inmates, concerning the importance of proper cellblock sanitation, hand washing, and what to do if they believe they are getting sick. Additional staff members have also been assigned to field calls on the Inmate Care Concern phone line to help family and friends share concerns about the quality of care their loved ones are receiving. You can call 713-274-7477, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Inmate Care Concerns may also be submitted online here.

As we continue to see more COVID-19 cases, we’re reminding our residents to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and remain vigilant. The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management created an SMS messaging service to keep residents informed.

To get regular updates text CV19 to 888777. You will receive regular SMS texts with the latest news and developments. If you want an assessment and advice on symptoms, please call Harris Health System’s Ask My Nurse seven days a week from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. at 713-634-1110. To get more information please click here.

Prevention tips:

It’s also important to practice social distancing to slow the spread and to flatten the curve. And don’t forget to follow the World Health Organization advice of following five simple steps:

• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. If you can’t wash your hands, use a hand sanitizer that has at least 60 percent alcohol.
• Cough/sneeze into your elbow.
• Don’t touch your face.
• Stay more than 3ft (1m) away from others.
• Stay home if you feel sick.

During these difficult times, it’s important to take care of our mental health. The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD activated the COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line 833-251-7544 to help our community. Remember, you are not alone.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to rapidly evolve, we know that with the support of our residents we can flatten the curve. We will get through this together. God bless you, and God bless the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

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