Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward provides a 2021 report on inmate housing income, jail activity, calls for service and training hours during the Feb. 14 Commissioners Court. REBECCA PESQUEDA | PLEASANTON EXPRESS
Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward has reported a total of $757,024 in outof county inmate housing income for the year 2021, a significant increase from $583,775 in 2020. Atascosa County contracts with surrounding counties including Hayes, Comal, Kendall and McMullen for inmate housing, with the majority of the income being profit for the county.
In total, the Atascosa County Jail booked 2,462 inmates including 1,922 males and 540 females. The daily average population in the jail for 2021 was 217 inmates—189 males and 28 females.
Sheriff Soward commended his jail staff for their hard work throughout the year despite the staff shortages they continue to face.
“My corrections officers are having to work extra shifts due to staff shortages. We were not fully staffed in the jail for the entire year of 2021, but they got the job done and did it with dedication,” Sheriff Soward said.
The Jail Activity Report reflects the number of bookings that occurred during the year of 2021. A “booking” occurs when an individual is charged and arrested for a crime and is placed into the jail.
In 2021, the ACSO saw an increase in some calls while others went down such as trash dumping— 136 calls in 2020 vs. 120 calls in 2021.
“My deputies have also done security checks at businesses and that’s up to 3,200 total calls for service. And that means that somebody needed a deputy or a deputy had to take some kind of action at these places,” Sheriff Soward said.
Total calls for service in 2021 were 19,210, up almost 2,000 from the year before.
Here’s a breakdown of calls for the year:
• Murders – 2
• Burglaries – 104
• Thefts – 384
• Robberies – 6
• Criminal Mischief – 136
• Assault-Misdemeanor – 229
• Assault-Felony – 47
• Disturbance/Family Violence – 698
• Recovered Stolen Vehicles – 66
• Loose Livestock Calls – 1,276
• Trash Dumping – 120
• Business Security Checks – 3,200
“We did a breakdown on speeding enforcement— 106 speeding citations, wrote 507 warnings and conducted 1,263 traffic stops and in our civil process division this past year served or attempted to serve 688 papers, collecting over $50,000 in fees for 2021, which is about where we were running last year,” Sheriff Soward said.
Lastly, Sheriff Soward reported a total of 4,439 hours of training for his staff including peace officers, jail staff and disptachers. This reflects training at the ACSO, in Leming and out-of-facility.
“It’s obvious by looking at our activity report we are getting busier and busier every year. We were handicapped the whole year last year by being short handed with deputies and with corrections officers. This can be, in part, contributed to the times we currently live in, where it appears less people are wanting to get into law enforcement. The ones that do choose this profession are chasing the higher-paying departments in and around San Antonio and all throughout Texas. Although my employees recently received a raise, we still continue to struggle to get qualified applicants. It has hurt us with having less deputies on patrol as well as with response time,” Sheriff Soward said. “With all that said, I cannot commend my jail staff, deputies, dispatchers and office support staff enough. They are all dedicated employees that work hard to get the job done. The citizens of Atascosa County come first and we will strive to keep it that way.”
