The Detention Division or the Douglas County Jail is headquartered at the Robert A. Christensen Justice Center and encompasses the inmate detention facility or Jail, court services section, inmate classification section, inmate programs section, and the work release program.

Detention Division Mission Statement

The mission of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Detention Division is to provide a safe, efficient, secure and humane detention facility for those incarcerated. This is accomplished by maintaining a high level of professionalism, integrity, service and commitment.

The Detention Division strives to achieve these goals daily through service excellence and constant vigilance and compliance with policies, standards, and progressive, prescribed procedures.

Opening in June 1998, the state-of-the-art detention facility had 192 cells, capable of holding 284 inmates in its four housing pods. When the new facility opened in 1998, we saw an average daily inmate population of 104 inmates. Today, we see an average population of 349 inmates per day, an enormous increase to say the least.

As part of its original purpose, the Justice Center was designed to accommodate the need for future expansion without the need to purchase additional land or build a new building. As a result of our continued inmate population growth, the County began a project to expand and update the jail in August 2003. This expansion increased our inmate capacity to 464 inmates by adding two more housing pods, one for maximum-security inmates and the other for medium security inmates. During this expansion project, we remodeled one of the original housing units to allow more effective management of those inmates with mental illnesses. Should future need arise, the facility can still be practically and cost-effectively expanded further to house up to 600 inmates.

The Douglas County Jail maintains a staff of 150 full-time employees, 45 of whom are civilian detention specialists who assist with facility operations, inmate classification, inmate assistance programs, and support deputies in performing their duties. The employment of these highly-regarded civilian staff members contributed significantly to the lower operating costs of the detention facility. Today, the detention facility is a nationally-recognized model for the idealistic planning, construction, and operation of a safe, cost-effective, and technologically-advanced facility.

According to Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) 17-26-102 the Sheriff is required to be the Keeper of the Jail and C.R.S. 30-10-511 Sheriff is the Custodian of the Jail.