Deputies work long hours supervising hundreds of inmates. They must keep certain inmates from coming into conflict with others inmates. And deputies are working in what is in effect two buildings \u2013 the old La Plata County Jail, which used to be a rifle factory, and the new jail built as an addition about 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
Jail administrators have decided to house inmates in the old jail \u2013 a building with a maze of narrow corridors lined with steel doors \u2013 to ensure at least some level of comfort for the incarcerated, Boudreau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than overcrowd, we try to keep inmates as comfortable as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But the design of the old jail makes it difficult for deputies to supervise inmates, Boudreau said. There\u2019s no central location from which each cellblock can be seen. Central intake and control for jail operations is at least a 40-second walk from the turquoise-accented corridors of the old jail.<\/p>\n Administrators tend to house more trustworthy inmates in the cinder-block structure of the old jail. The jail\u2019s trustees as they\u2019re called \u2013 men and women who are incarcerated but trusted to clean floors, cook food or do work outside the jail \u2013 stay in the old jail.<\/p>\n There are cameras in the old jail\u2019s cellblocks, but nothing substitutes the watchful eye and authoritative presence of a sheriff\u2019s deputy, Boudreau said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what strains our resources,\u201d he said of keeping inmates in the old jail. \u201cPeople have to walk all the way down here and look.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a point somewhere around 200 inmates that the dynamics of the jail begin to change, but Boudreau said he\u2019s not quite sure at what point his employees start feeling strained.<\/p>\n Deputies work three 12-hour days a week, but when someone is sick or has a family emergency, Boudreau said deputies on call have to work overtime they may not want. And affording deputies overtime pay drains the Sheriff\u2019s Office\u2019s already-strapped budget.<\/p>\n \u201cIf (jail) population trends continue like they are, we\u2019ll hit a point when we\u2019ll need substantial resources for more staffing,\u201d Boudreau said.<\/p>\n The jail\u2019s holding cells \u2013 seven rooms where inmates are held before joining general population \u2013 are often near capacity, Boudreau said. He said he never thought the Sheriff\u2019s Office would need that much holding space.<\/p>\n La Plata County Jail has an agreement to house inmates from Archuleta County, San Juan County and the federal government. Archuleta County keeps an average of 30 inmates in the La Plata County Jail every day.<\/p>\n Boudreau said when his subordinates come to him with concerns about working so much, he reminds them that Archuleta County is building a jail that should be done next year, which should offer some reprieve.<\/p>\n \u201cThe difference between 180 people and 212 people is huge,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can feel the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Judges have released some suspects of nonviolent crimes to reduce pressure on the jail.<\/p>\n More violent crime in La Plata County means inmates are often incarcerated for months, or even years, before their case can be heard by a judge or jury, Boudreau said.<\/p>\n Mark Redwine \u2013 a Vallecito man charged with second-degree murder and child abuse related to the death of his 13-year-old son, Dylan \u2013 has been incarcerated in the La Plata County Jail for almost two years awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin in April 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult for an individual to spend years in a county jail,\u201d Boudreau said.<\/p>\n