COLORADO SPRINGS – The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office announced the county jail’s inmate population reached an all-time high Monday.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacqueline Kirby said the number of inmates in the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center reached 1,839 Monday.
According to the sheriff’s office, the previous record was 1,791 in August 2017.
Kirby said the number has increased from 1,375 inmates in 2012 to more than 1,800 currently.
In a news release Monday afternoon, Kirby said the population increase impacts inmate and staff safety. Sheriff Bill Elder provided the following statement:
“My number one priority is the impact this situation has on our deputies in the jail. We will continue to focus on jail staffing until we find a more permanent solution. Building a new jail or adding to the existing facility is just not an option. My jail Command Staff and I continue to explore and implement ways to manage our jail population including moving inmates to other facilities within the state,” Sheriff Elder said in a news release.
