17 Colorado sheriffs to Polis: Fix inmate transfer crisis straining local jails

By Marissa Ventrelli | Denver Gazette

A coalition of 17 county sheriffs urged Gov. Jared Polis to resolve the Department of Corrections’ backlog in inmate transfers and increase what the local officials described as the state’s inadequate reimbursement rate for housing inmates in county jails. Current conditions are unsustainable according the group.

In a letter signed by the sheriffs of El Paso, Douglas, Pueblo, and other counties, the group warned that prolonged delays in transferring of DOC-sentenced inmates from county jails into state custody, combined with what they called an “outdated and underfunded” per diem reimbursement rate, is creating a fiscal and public safety crisis. 

“County jails were never designed — or funded — to house state inmates for extended periods,” the sheriffs stated. “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.”

In May, El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal called on Polis to address the backlog at the El Paso County Jail, the largest in the state.

At the time, 139 DOC-sentenced inmates were being housed at the jail while they waited for an open bed at a DOC facility.

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