Colorado Springs Tent Jail Up and Running

IN an effort to relieve overcrowding and reinstate their work release program, Sheriff Terry Maketa has erected a tent in the parking lot.

AP) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Some El Paso County inmates are camping out in the parking lot as sheriff's officials try to ease crowding inside the jail.

A 12,000-square-foot canvas tent was put up in the parking Sunday. The first night, 22 inmates on work release slept on bunk beds in the tent and 38 were there Monday.

Gas and electric lines supply heat and power. Carpet covers plywood floors inside and vending machines offer snacks. Restrooms are next door in modular buildings.

The inmates, classified as low-level nonviolent offenders, spend the day at their jobs and return to the tent at night.

"They only come to sleep," sheriff's spokesman Lt. Clif Northam said.

CBS 4