Overview
- Officials approved roughly $1.4–$1.5 million to expand Pretrial Services and create 15 new after‑hours positions to support round‑the‑clock monitoring, with three hires made so far and training expected to take six to seven months.
- The county says its vendor, Sentinel, will now immediately notify the presiding judge when a device is tampered with, attempt a video check of the defendant and call the Harris County Sheriff’s Office if the defendant does not answer.
- New domestic‑violence measures let judges order GPS monitoring, push near‑real‑time alerts to survivors through the Advocate app and require Pretrial Services to enter tampering alerts into the county CAD system to trigger welfare checks.
- There are about 1,800 people on court‑ordered monitors in the county and recent cases — including Lee Gilley’s alleged May escape to Italy and other defendants who reportedly removed devices — exposed how business‑hours protocols could delay detection.
- County leaders acknowledge gaps remain because full staffing and training will take months, key standard operating procedures remain nonpublic, and officials caution that GPS and tech tools improve response but do not eliminate risk.