Feds inspecting Harris County Jail this week

The US Justice Department is inspecting the Harris County Jail this week in response to several high-profile inmate deaths and chronic overcrowding. See related MSM coverage:

• After inmate deaths, feds begin inspecting Harris County Jail, Houston Chronicle
• Feds inspect troubled Harris County Jail, AP
• Understaffing costs Houston taxpayers $150 million in overtime, Houston Chronicle
• Sheriff defends himself against controversy, Click2Houston
  

The article on overtime costs includes a graphic breaking down the largest sources of overtime costs - the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff, which together accounted for more than half of all government overtime expenses by Harris County agencies.

Related Grits posts:

• DOJ investigating Harris County Jail
• Houston judges responsible for massive overcrowding tab
• Elected officials to blame for Harris Jail overcrowding, says editorial
  
• Marc Levin: What should Harris County do now that jail bonds have failed?
• Counties that rejected new jails must now get serious about diversion
• Pretrial detention, unnecessary incarceration driving Texas jail overcrowding
• Bail blunders boost bulging Harris jail population
• Extra bail conditions: When tough on crime means tough on taxpayers
• Should county government subsidize bail bond companies?
• Lack of counsel, information are bail barriers
• Harris County detains low-risk offenders for no reason
• Homegrown Harris Jail Jam: Jailed probationers swell inmate numbers
• Harris revokes probation most among big Texas counties
• TPPF: Counties must act to prevent overincarceration
• JPI report illuminates causes of Harris jail overcrowding
  
• Harris County officials wrongly think they'll build their way out of jail overcrowding