Jail Bookings On The Decline

Since 2005, the number of people being booked into the Larimer County Detention Center and the average daily population of the jail has declined, something officials attribute to a number of different changes in the county justice system.

In 2005, deputies made 18,184 bookings into the detention center. In 2006, that number declined to 17,275 and 16,442 in 2007.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said that one of the reasons bookings have decreased is because Loveland and Fort Collins police have changed how they handle some arrests.

A Fort Collins officer might handle a DUI arrest by taking the person to the police building, issuing him or her a summons, and having someone pick them up, Alderden said.

"We have significantly less people booked through Fort Collins and Loveland," Alderden said.

The numbers have fluctuated, however. In 2005, there were 2,990 DUI or DWAI by alcohol bookings, according to numbers reported from the Sheriff's Office. In 2006, that number was 2,262, and in 2007, it was 2,808.

"We do indeed do a great deal of our bookings down here, and we try to release as many people as we can without taking them to jail," said Loveland police Chief Luke Hecker in a voicemail. "When we are transporting people to jail, it's because they are not bondable or they are facing serious felony charges."

Those being booked back in through LCDC to serve time are also being differed to alternative sentencing, Darling said.

Some of the alternative sentencing programs are seeing the increase in numbers, including work release and electronic home detention numbers.