Dispute over jail cap headed for a fix

County and its cities agree to raise limit to 80

A long-running dispute between Adams County and its municipalities over the number of inmates that can be housed at the county jail appears to be coming to an end.

Several cities, including Aurora and Commerce City, recently approved an intergovernmental agreement raising the cap on the number of municipal inmates held at the Adams County Detention Center from 65 a day to 80. Northglenn and Westminster approved the agreement Monday, and Thornton is set to vote Tuesday. Brighton will consider it in September.

Any prisoners above that daily cap would have to be paid for by the municipalities, according to the agreement, to the tune of $45 per day per inmate.

A thumbs-up on agreement will put an end to a standoff that developed nearly four years ago, when the county imposed a limit of 30 prisoners from the municipalities on any given day.

Then-Sheriff Doug Darr cited jail crowding and understaffing for the limit.

The cap was raised to 65 inmates last year but not before Aurora, Commerce City, Thornton, Northglenn and Federal Heights sued the sheriff, challenging his authority to impose such a cap.

The resolutions being considered by city councils not only provide each municipality with its own apportionment of the 80bed total but provide for a settlement of the lawsuit filed in February 2014.

Thornton Police Chief Randy Nelson said the cities still believe residents paid for county jail services through their taxes and there should be no cap, but he said the agreement is reasonable. “It’s a compromise,” he said. Thornton will get the most daily beds, 21, but Nelson said that number will need to be re-examined as the city grows.

Adams County Sheriff Mike McIntosh couldn’t be reached for comment Monday but told commissioners last week that he hopes they work together to determine who needs jail time and who could go through alternative sentencing.

The sheriff said those who end up behind bars need to be “people we are afraid of, not people we are mad at.”