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| Streamlined Booking at Texas Jail |
| By The Conroe Courier |
| Published: 01/30/2006 |
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A new, streamlined procedure is getting defendants booked in and officers checked out of a Texas county jail in a fraction of the time once required, getting officers back on the streets quicker, according to county officials. As part of ongoing improvements in Montgomery County legal system, the Montgomery County Jail has streamlined the booking process., enabling arresting officers to return to the streets in a fraction of the time once required. Some improvements involve changes in the forms used, and the new booking desk marked a vast improvement. The booking process once took between sixty and ninety minutes and has been reduced to approximately fifteen minutes. Another change occurred at the jail January 1, when Lt. Robert Green became the new Jail Administrator. Captain Ken Ariola was the jail administrator, but took on the duty of supervising the detention division. Green said he when he was offered the new responsibilities, he did not hesitate in his answer. "They asked if I'd be willing to undertake it and I said I'd be glad to," Green said, "I appreciate Sheriff Gage's confidence in me." He also said Ariola was a "great guy to work for." Green said the new booking system is superior to the old one in many ways. The new booking desk has five workstations instead of 3 and is better arranged. "It's a two-part system," he said, "There's a patrol intake desk and a booking desk." There is also a new shelving area for prints and equipment that replaced a much smaller shelf. The old desk was installed in 1987 when the jail was constructed. "There's been a lot of wear and tear on that equipment because we're a 24/7 operation - It was time to replace it," Green said. In addition to a new shape and size, the new desk provides a bigger, better work station. More officers can utilize the desk at one time, which reduce the wait, Green said. There may still be a waiting period, depending upon what time someone is booked. Green explained that on a Monday around 2 p.m., for example, there would not likely be a wait. On the other hand, on a Friday night around 11 p.m., things could still get backed up. Officers can now do some of the work before they leave the scene, allowing them to utilize the time that was once spent waiting to transport suspects to the jail. Pen drives are now standard issue, along with the laptops in patrol cars. A pen drive plugs into the USB port on a computer and can store a large amount of information. "If they have the forms on a pen drive, they can download and print," Green said. He said the sweeping changes were prompted by a request from Gage. "The Sheriff asked us to look at reducing the time arresting officers took," he said, "We asked officers on the front line to give us ideas to streamline the process." In response, they examined forms and eliminated a great deal of repetitive paperwork. For example, the property care was once divided into two separate cards, but has now been combined to one. |
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