A surprise inspection of the jails in Houston has precipitated a new crisis for Harris County. Inspectors from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards found severe overcrowding in holding cells and a lack of jailers to supervise them. The county has found itself struggling to fill the gap since a hiring freeze was instituted in March and has increasingly relied on paying overtime to remaining staff. But now that citations have been issued, the county has 30 days to submit a plan to fix the problem or face state sanctions.