The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office is implementing a program that should cut down on the number of Archuleta County inmates housed in the La Plata County jail, thereby saving the county money on housing and transportation.
While the kinks are still being worked out and is just beginning, the program allows eligible pretrial inmates to take part in a pretrial services and electronic home-monitoring program that will allow them to be out of jail while their cases work through the judicial process.
“Wherever I can save money for the county, I’m going to do that,” Archuleta County Sheriff Rich Valdez said, adding that he strives to provide good, quality service to the community at the best cost possible.
As of Wednesday, three people were enrolled in the program, Valdez said, with that number expected to increase.
Too, the county is looking at implementing an alternative sentencing program that would be a home detention program with home monitoring and would be similar to a work-release program.
The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office originally began using an alternative sentencing program around 2005 or 2006, Valdez explained.
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