COLO. JAIL MAY HOUSE LESS INMATES AMID BUDGET CUTS

FORT COLLINS - Only the most serious offenders would be jailed, and
some who commit burglaries and drug offenses would be released after
being booked, if a Larimer County plan to deal with budget cuts is
approved.

Larimer County officials are waiting for a judge to approve the
proposal, which comes as the sheriff's office budget was slashed by
$1.8 million and 18 employees were laid off. Sheriff Jim Alderden said
the cuts forced him to close a 32-bed pod because there weren't enough
officers to monitor it. He says sometimes one officer oversees up to
72 inmates.

Jail employees say that has made for a tense environment at the jail,
as threats to personnel and violence among inmates increases.

"You can really feel the tension in the building more than ever," said
Deputy Casear De Los Santos. "The stress levels for us have really
gone up."

Alderden, who pitched the new inmate detention plan to the Larimer
County Criminal Justice Advisory Committee last month, said officials
have no other choice but to let some criminals free.

"I've spent over 30 years locking up bad guys, and now I'm setting
some of those free," he said.

Under the plan, homicide and assault suspects would be jailed, as well
as suspects who are a threat to the community or crime witnesses.
Burglary and drug distribution suspects would be booked and released
on bond. Officials said their release could include pretrial
supervision.

The jail has a 460-inmate capacity but sometimes the number of people
in jail hovers around more than 500, officials said. The jail, built
in 1983 with 152 beds, has been expanded twice but voters have
recently rejected proposals to make it bigger.

County Commissioner Kathay Rennels said the new jail criteria was
formulated after input from law enforcement experts, and officials
from community corrections, human services and the judiciary. She said
the county's plan could be a blueprint for other local governments if
their budgets also get cut.

When the proposal was discussed last month, other options considered
were bonding and sentencing alternatives, such as work-release
programs or having some inmates serve time on the weekends.

The county currently has about 12,000 nonviolent offenders serving
alternative sentences in the community.