Security locks flawed at Van Zandt County jail

[Disir]

VAN ZANDT CO. (KYTX) - The Van Zandt County jail inmate population has been transferred to neighboring counties after detention staff discovered inmates found a flaw in the high security locking systems within the facility increasing the risk of escape.

On Monday June 30, 2014, detention staff immediately contacted private contractors responsible for the design and installation of the locks.

Following an inspection of the facility, it was determined that although the locks were functioning as designed, an engineering flaw existed with the mechanisms enabling a simple process to defeat the security of the lock.

This issue effected confinement cells in high security sections of the facility as well as ingress and egress access to the building.

State and County Officials were immediately notified of the situation and the Sheriff’s Emergency Action Plan was put in action.

Because the separate, newer constructed Minimum Security Confinement Facility was not equipped with the same locking systems; of the currently incarcerated 161 inmates; 90 were required to be transported to the Henderson County Jail and 35 to the Kaufman County Jail and the remaining female inmates were transported to the Upshur County Jail for the safety and the security of the inmates and the jail staff.

Sheriff Michael Lindsey Ray stated, “Because of the vigilance of the Van Zandt County Detention Staff, a very serious situation was discovered and dealt with expeditiously and appropriately.

Because there are many very dangerous inmates currently confined in our county jail; the alertness of jail staff most certainly prevented a very dangerous situation from becoming a potentially deadly situation.”

The company responsible for the locking systems is preparing replacement parts for shipping and it is expected to take ten days to two weeks for contractors to replace the internal components of the defective locks.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+L...-flawed-at-van-zandt-county-jail#.U7VkNH_ZfLQ

I wonder how they discovered that.