After a spike in the number of female inmates, Larimer County Jail officials say the population has decreased to normal levels.
Larimer County budget constraints are limiting staffing at the jail. That means that even though the facility was designed to hold as many as 533, current funding caps that number to 460. And there are also space constraints. When the number of women increased in mid February, jail administrator Capt Timothy Palmer said he had to add beds in the common area, and even convert a male housing area into one for women.
“One of the issues we end up having is as the population increases, behaviors tend to decrease,” he said. “We have some behavioral issues when things are overcrowded.”
The jail is taking other steps to decrease inmate population such as early release. Larimer County commissioners are currently considering whether to ask voters for an extension and possibly an increase to existing sales tax measures that fund the jail.
