Captain Tim Keaton reported to the Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 27 that Larimer County’s jail average daily population (ADP) has risen sharply in 2024–2025, approaching roughly 590 inmates on some weekends.

Keaton said the increase is driven largely by pretrial detention and court backlogs. Of the roughly 590 inmates identified at the time of the briefing, he said 77 had been sentenced; the remaining roughly 513 were pretrial or otherwise unsentenced. Keaton emphasized that the sheriff’s office currently holds inmates who have been sentenced to state prison but cannot be transferred because of capacity or scheduling constraints. “We have 36 inmates that have been sentenced to a period of time that need to go to DOC and have not yet,” he said.

Keaton provided a daily local cost figure for housing inmates: “When we calculate our daily cost to house an inmate, it’s about $242 per day per inmate,” he said. He added that the state Department of Corrections reimburses the county a lower per‑day rate for holding DOC‑sentenced inmates, which he cited as $77 per day. Keaton described this gap as budgetary pressure on the county and said the rate is effectively set by the state.

Commissioners asked for more granular data on who is being held pretrial—how many are awaiting hearings or cannot post bond—and asked whether local court processing delays and competency dockets contribute to the ADP increase. Keaton and other presenters said the system has seen longer case processing after COVID, that competency filings have increased and that jurisdictions across Colorado face similar pressures.

Commissioners and the district attorney noted several contributing factors, including backlog in sentencing and diversion efforts elsewhere in the system. Keaton said the county will provide further breakdowns by booking district and other requested details to help commissioners evaluate patrol and jail resourcing.

No formal policy action or vote was taken during the meeting; commissioners requested follow‑up data and further interagency discussion.