Continuing to Change the Dallas Sheriff's Department

• Sheriff Valdez continues to work daily to address the systemic problems in the jail system left to her by her predecessors. These new guards allow the Sheriff to keep the Jail within legal prisoner-to-guard ratio guidelines.
  
  
• During Sheriff Valdez's term, major progress has been made towards bringing the jail into compliance with all state and federal laws, after years of underfunding and neglect.
• Sheriff Valdez has worked with Parkland Hospital and other county agencies to bring the health care provided to inmates in the Dallas County Jail System in line with national and state standards. Sick individuals are no longer placed in jail, where they can present a health risk to the inmate population and the public, but instead are treated first.
  
• The Sheriff has led her Department in partnerships with the Dallas County District Attorney, the County Probation Department and the Dallas County Constables to increase the enforcement of warrants and to locate probation absconders, thus removing dangerous individuals from Dallas neighborhoods.
• Sheriff Valdez has overseen the expansion and improvement of programs conducted by the Department, such as the Courtesey Patrol to aid stranded motorists and the County's DWI taskforce.
• In the fall of 2008, the Sheriff’s Department began a Sheriff’s Citizens Academy. The first class had 15 students participating. Each class has 15-20 students who participate each session. Students learn about crime scene investigation, traffic enforcement, tour the court system and jail operations, and attend demonstrations involving the department’s K-9 unit and SWAT team. Students also get to try their hand at the Kenneth “Ken” Mitchum Gun Range after some training by the certified Range Master.
• The Citizens Support Team is the next level of department participation once graduating from the Sheriff’s Citizen Academy. They must complete the necessary requirements. Once all the requirements have been met, a CST is ready to assist the Dallas County Reserves and deputies at various events. A CST then becomes part of the Sheriff’s Department Reserve Team.

The Sheriff’s Department is GOING GREEN! You may have
noticed paper recycling bins throughout the department. This is
just Phase I of a department-wide project to recycle.
Here’s how it’s going to work. Recycling containers will be placed
near work stations. Employees will start putting all paper products
in the recycling bins instead of throwing them in the trash. When
each container is full, the contents will be deposited into a central
collection container to be picked up for recycling.
Many of you already recycle at home so this is will be old hat for
you. For others, however, you may have to get into the habit of
looking for and utilizing the recycling bins.
You will find a list of items suitable for paper recycling including
glossy, colored, computer and plain paper, also brochures, news-
papers, magazines envelopes and more.

• Locations for the central collection containers will be the 1st
floor mail room in the Frank Crowley Building.
• West, North and Kays Towers—near the copy machine in the
supervisors office.
• Traffic at Langdon and Polk St.—in or near supervisors office.
Look for more information in the coming weeks!

We will also begin donating old blankets and mat-
tress covers — that are no longer serviceable for
inmates — to Dallas County area animal shelters.
These items are typically thrown away. The initia-
tive will reduce the cost of trash pick and will be of
great benefit to the local shelters.

You will also begin noticing recycling boxes from Office
Depot. Those will be used for ink jet and toner cartridges.
You can order FREE prepaid ink jet and toner cartridge
recycling boxes from the Office Depot Web site—SK 816-
656 for ink and SKU 824-712 for toner. Place them in
visible locations near your department main office or
copier area. Fill out the “From” section of the pre-paid
UPS label on the box and include the box with your normal
UPS pick-up or drop it off at your nearest UPS receptacle.
If you can’t find one—call 1-800-742-5877 to schedule a
pick-up.

• Sheriff Valdez overhauled the jail commissary contracting system, canceling "sweatheart" contracts set up by her predecessor. The commissary contract now brings in $1.5 million a year and these funds are used to improve programs for inmates in the Dallas County Jail System, offsetting costs that would otherwise be borne by taxpayers.
• The K-9 unit is the latest weapon of the Sheriff’s Department incepted in June 2008 against the war on drugs. This unit is funded with federal seizure money. The unit is self-supporting and no cost to the taxpayers of Dallas County. The K-9 handlers have over 30 years of Law Enforcement experience making the team an enormous impact on the nations drug traffic trade.
• Sheriff Valdez and her Department have worked with County Probation, the District Attorney and the Dallas County judges to move inmates through to their final disposition more quickly, alleviating population overcrowding in the Jail to save costs and ensure that space is available for truly dangerous criminals.
• The new standards put in place regarding medical care, sanitation and maintenance will lower potential liability to the County by reducing risk of infection or harm to Jail inmates.
• Sheriff's Deputies will expedite the clearing of accidents on highways covered by the Traffic Management Plan, saving commuters the costs associated with traffic delays and congestion.