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| Corrections and sentencing join forces |
| By The Coloradoan |
| Published: 06/28/2006 |
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FORT COLLINS, CO - A cooperative approach has made a significant difference for county officials seeking to patch a crowding problem at the Larimer County Detention Center. County Facilities Director Dave Spencer said the state-funded Community Corrections and the Alternative Sentencing Unit have agreed to share space and personnel. A 150-bed expansion in Community Corrections is expected to be completed by November. Once that project is finished, a total of 412 beds will be available for inmates who don't need to be detained in the higher-security and more expensive jail. Community Corrections generally seeks to return nonviolent felons to society while Alternative Sentencing allows nonviolent offenders an opportunity to serve their sentence while also continuing to work or perform community service. The combined effort is a stopgap, but not a solution. Although an expansion of the jail will still be necessary to address the burgeoning inmate population, county justice and law enforcement officials are correctly taking as many steps as possible now to ease the crowding. Other government entities could learn from this approach by looking at resolving the problem rather than hiding behind bureaucratic walls. Just as those who conduct business must consider innovations to survive, government officials also must eliminate the "we always have done it this way" attitude and tear down parochialism between departments. Compelling such efficiency is essential for practical purposes as well as political purposes. County officials are weighing a November ballot issue that would ask voters to increase funding for the criminal justice system through a sales tax or property tax increase. That money will be used to pay for expanding and maintaining the criminal justice system. |
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