Consultant: Potter County jail is over peak capacity; court urged to plan for roughly 700+ beds

AMARILLO, Texas — At a special Potter County Commissioners Court meeting on Aug. 6, 2025, jail consultant Kenny Burns told commissioners that recent peak inmate counts have exceeded the county jail’s 599-bed design capacity and that the county must decide whether to expand the existing facility, build a new jail, or accept the ongoing costs of doing nothing.

Burns, who said the court and jail staff had toured the Potter County Jail and a more modern facility in Deaf Smith County, told the court the county’s facility needs analysis from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), dated August 2024, should be revalidated. "On that peak day, you don't have enough space," Burns said, describing recent monthly peaks that, he said, have been well north of 600 inmates.

Why it matters: commissioners were presented with multiple data points that affect capacity planning, including jail commission (TCJS) reports, Potter County jail population and average daily population figures, paper-ready inmate counts, an Amarillo community growth report (Oct. 2024) showing population shifts into Randall County, and a TxDOT vehicle count that Burns said shows about 32,000 vehicles per day on I-40 through Amarillo—an indicator of transient traffic that can affect arrests and jail usage.

Key facts and figures

- Design capacity: 599 beds…