The county jail houses those charged and awaiting trial, those arrested on warrants, those serving sentences at the county jail (up to 2 years per charge on some charges), those placed on holds by Parole and Probation, those sentenced to and awaiting beds in the state prison system (Colorado Department of Corrections) or Community Corrections, those sentenced by municipal courts in our county as well as others placed here on holds for other agencies.
We have to be prepared to handle accused murderers and rapists as well as persons arrested for traffic offenses such as DUIs. We are responsible for securely holding all of these individuals as well as providing a safe environment. Pretrial confinement is not for punishment purposes. It is merely to assure that the arrestee appears in court. Sentenced inmates, on the other hand, are here as punishment for their offense. It is the responsibility of the deputies and civilian staff to make productive use of the inmates time, but not to inflict further punishment upon them.