Jail Division

Larimer County Jail - History

The 2405 Midpoint facility was originally constructed in 1983 to comply with a Federal Court order to provide for humane conditions of confinement for inmates housed in the facility.

The previous county jail had been housed in the Sheriff’s Administrative building located at 200 W. Oak St.

The original Midpoint facility had 152 beds. In 1983, the average daily population for the jail was 105 inmates.

One additional housing area was added to the facility in 1992. This added 57 additional beds, bringing the capacity to 209 inmates.

At that time, the average daily population had risen to 185.

Between 1998 and 2001, four additional housing areas were added to the facility.

Because of funding, one of the smaller housing areas was not finished for occupancy at the time.

The current additions give the facility 557 beds.

For 2010 the average daily population was 469 inmates.

The Jail is working to run in an environmentally and fiscally responsible manner.

Jail improvements include more energy efficient equipment and fixtures and use of major equipment during non-peak demand hours.

Larimer County Jail - Operational Responsibilities

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.

The Jail can house subjects accused of all levels of charges. 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.

Operational Philosophy

The Jail operates using the Direct Supervision Philosophy of inmate management. Deputies work inside the inmate living areas, supervising the behavior of inmates, keeping negative behavior to a minimum thereby increasing safety for staff, visitors and inmates. One of the tenets of the Direct Supervision Philosophy is that we keep inmates’ time occupied with positive activities. This reduces costly vandalism to the facility, escape attempts, fights, assaults on staff and other negative behaviors. Inmates are kept occupied with inmate jobs, educational programs and religious programs. The vast majority of the labor to prepare meals, wash and distribute inmate laundry and clean the facility is filled by inmates. This reinforces the importance of a strong work ethic and saves the citizens money by not having to pay to have these jobs done.

Justice Center Security

By statute, the Sheriff is responsible for attending County and District Courts and is responsible for provided security for the courts.

The Sheriff’s Office staffs the Loveland and Fort Collins Justice Centers (courts).

The Justice Center unit reports to the Detention Division. The Justice Center unit consists of Deputies and contract security officers who staff the security checkpoints coming into the buildings.

Professional Recognition

The Larimer County Jail is accredited through the American Correctional Association (ACA)

as well as the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).

These two organizations assure that the Jail is in compliance with nationally established guidelines for jail facilities.

This reduces the financial liability to the citizens of Larimer County.

Court Services Unit - Transportaion - Justice Center

The Sheriff is responsible for transporting in-custody persons to court as well as to other jails or prisons.

16 deputies are assigned to Justice Center duties.

They are based out of the Jail.

They also retrieve fugitives who flee Colorado and are arrested in other states on Larimer County charges.