On Thursday, El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal and 16 other county sheriffs across Colorado, have issued a letter to Governor Jared Polis about the strain on county jails.
The letter calls for urgent action to resolve the Colorado Department of Corrections’ (DOC) inmate transfer backlog and “the inadequate state reimbursement for housing state inmates in county jails.”
Sheriff Roybal and the other sheriffs warn that prolonged delays in inmate transfers from county jails to DOC custody are creating a statewide public safety crisis.
“County jails were never designed—or funded—to house state inmates for extended periods.”“Yet we’re being forced to expand capacity and stretch already limited staff to accommodate inmates who should be in state custody. This isn’t just unsustainable—it’s unfair to local taxpayers.”Letter from Colorado Sheriffs
According to the letter, the state currently reimburses county jails $77.16 per inmate, which is more than $60 short of the actual cost of housing inmates…