Sarah Grunau/ Houston Public Media

AUSTIN — Members of a state-appointed commission on jail standards commended Harris County on Thursday for addressing long-standing detention officer staffing issues and making efforts to end inmate outsourcing contracts.

About 300 inmates in the custody of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office who were outsourced to a private jail facility in Mississippi with limited oversight will return back to the county as one of the its outsourcing contracts is set to end this year.

Though commissioners recognized the county jail’s improvements and efforts to reduce the total inmate population, Harris County hasn’t yet received the good graces of the state as the jail still remains out of compliance after an inspection team in October found issues with fire cont

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