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| Colorado Jails Consider Tents |
| By Denver Post |
| Published: 10/03/2005 |
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Denver, Colorado's jail population has hit an all-time high, forcing sheriff's officials to consider temporarily housing some inmates in tents. The two jails Wednesday were more than 50 percent over capacity, housing 2,583 inmates in facilities designed for 1,672. The population also exceeds initial limits for the new $378 million justice center that won't be complete until 2009. Public safety officials said they had plans to tap $900,000 in federal grant funds to turn a storage area into a new wing with 100 additional beds. But that wing won't be finished for at least 90 days, meaning officials may have to turn to tents, said William Lovingier, a chief at the Denver Sheriff's Department. Jail officials confirmed the jail population is at record levels. City officials say they have the ability to expand capacity when they renovate the current county jail and plan to reduce inmate populations through new programs, including pretrial diversion and rehabilitation. Such programs could get some defendants awaiting a trial out on the street more quickly. The new jail inmate figures were reported during the first meeting of the Crime Prevention and Control Commission, a group of city officials, citizens and justice officials appointed to develop such programs. The jails currently fail to meet minimum standards set by the American Correctional Association. The department is housing the overflow in the gym and putting up to three beds in cells designed for one. The $900,000 to build a new jail wing as a stopgap measure won't come from the city's strapped general fund, Lovingier said. The money will come from federal grants the city gets for housing illegal and resident immigrants, he said. The federal grants also will pay the overtime for about 15 full-time sheriff's employees needed to staff the wing. The new justice center will include 1,500 new jail beds and 35 courtrooms when it opens in 2009. The Smith Road facility, also known as the county jail, will have another 1,000 beds remaining and the capacity to build another 384 new beds later. The Crime Prevention and Control Commission will decide how to spend $1.19 million next year to address jail crowding issues and come up with programs to cut recidivism. That amount is expected to increase to more than $3 million by 2009. Regina Huerter, a criminal-justice and corrections consultant for Justice System Assessment Training, will be executive director of the commission. The commission will select a chairman during its next meeting on Oct. 19. Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and Denver County Judge Andrew Armatas have been nominated. |
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