(COLORADO SPRINGS) — El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal says his jail is being pushed to the limit.
“As of today (Friday), there are 137 sentenced D.O.C. inmates in the El Paso County jail,” Roybal said.
Those inmates are stuck in a ward inside the jail that is meant for 80 people. But Roybal says they have no choice as they face a “backlog of inmates” who need to be moved to the Colorado Department of Corrections but are not able to.
“The state is not pulling their weight,” Roybal said.
Roybal adds that lawmakers have already gotten rid of 300 beds at the Department of Corrections to help close a billion-dollar state budget shortfall. The state did agree to open 100 beds on July 1st to help, but Roybal thinks it will not be enough.
“I’m calling on the Governor and the legislature to find a solution and quit pushing this onto local governments,” Roybal said. “It’s not only affecting El Paso County, but this is also affecting every single county that operates a jail here in Colorado.”
Money is also an issue when it comes to holding extra inmates. Roybal says the daily cost in the El Paso County Jail is $143.18. The state only reimburses counties for $77.16 per inmate daily. This has created a budget deficit, as Roybal says the county fell $149,556 short of covering daily inmate costs just in the month of April alone.
“Quit using local governments as a cost-saving measure and house their inmates in our jails,” Roybal said.
Roybal adds that if state lawmakers don’t make changes, the next step would be looking at potential budget cuts to accommodate inmate housing costs. While Roybal says he does not know what those cuts would look like, he did make clear what he will not touch.
“I will never cut emergency services,” Roybal said.
FOX21 News did reach out to the Governor’s office for comment on Roybal’s call for more DOC capacity and inmate housing funds, and it declined to comment. The Department of Corrections did send a statement saying it acknowledges the concerns brought up by Sheriff Roybal.
The DOC would add, “We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with El Paso County and stakeholders across Colorado to address these pressing challenges.”
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