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| Denver Jails Suffer Squeeze; Won't Seek Renewed Accreditation |
| By Rocky Mountain News |
| Published: 03/11/2002 |
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Denver's two jails are so overcrowded that the city won't even seek to renew accreditation. The Denver Sheriff's Department notified the American Correctional Association that it wouldn't be seeking certification last week. It will be the first time Denver hasn't had a certified lockup since 1980, when it was approved as one of the first systems in the country to meet requirements for staff and offenders' safety. Fred Oliva, Denver's director of corrections, said the city jail system held 2,175 prisoners on February 26 -- 667 beyond capacity. Such massive overcrowding, with no plans for a new jail, would make accreditation impossible, he said. Denver was lucky to receive the certification over the past 10 years as the city kept promising the ACA board that it would build a new jail, Oliva said. Each accreditation covers three years. The last accreditation was earned in 1998, when the board gave the city its OK with 'severe reservations' because of overcrowded conditions, Oliva said. But with the failure of the $325 million jail bond election last November, the city can no longer make commitments about more space, he said. The two jails will still operate at ACA standards except for the over-population, Oliva said. On Tuesday, the downtown jail, designed for 158 people, held 232 inmates. The county jail, built to hold 1,350, held 1,943. Also Tuesday, Oliva said he hopes to have a home detention plan in operation by mid-March. Inmates convicted of non-violent crimes would be tracked with electronic ankle bracelets, which are already used in some probation cases, he said. |
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