JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colorado — More inmates are being released from the Jefferson County Detention Center under a new population management plan that went into effect on Jan 1, a tweet from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says.
JCSO announced Wednesday that they planned to release 23 inmates. That brings the total to 91 inmates that have been released since the start of the year.
When the jail population exceeds capacity by 2%, steps are taken to reduce the population to manageable levels, according to the new policy. Those eligible for release must have served a minimum of 50% of their sentence, according to JCSO.
> The video above is from mid-January when we spoke with the JeffCo sheriff about the new policy.
It's the third time this year that inmates were released under the policy. In mid-January 21 inmates were released. Not long after that, 47 inmates were released.
Last year, Sheriff Jeff Shrader announced his department would be facing significant budget cuts in 2020. To continue operating the jail in that county, he said he would have to make some changes in order to house fewer inmates.
First, the sheriff decided to close an entire floor of the jail. That decreased the jail capacity from 1,392 to beds to 1,148 beds. Staffing was also reduced by 51 positions.
JCSO isn't the only place feeling the effects of the budget problems. Last month, it was announced that the county commissioners were considering shutting down the fairgrounds to save money. The move would save about $1.3 million each year if it is shut down, according to Mark Skelter, the advisory committee chairman for the fairgrounds.
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