Pandemic Arrest Standards Revised In Boulder County

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is reverting to pre-pandemic arrest standards, which are expected to increase the number of inmates at the Boulder County Jail. The new standards took effect Tuesday.

The office revised its arrest standards in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to limit the number of inmates.

"Keeping the jail population lower than pre-pandemic numbers has been important in order to accommodate testing and isolating inmates to prevent the spread of the virus," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

"The good news is that as the positivity rates and hospitalizations have declined, it is now appropriate to allow the population within the jail to increase."

The higher arrest standards allowed the sheriff's office to adopt a thorough quarantine process, which identified dozens of cases and helped prevent the spread of the virus, authorities said.

"Unfortunately, this quarantine process takes up to 150 beds in our facility, and we cannot protect our inmates without it," the news release read.

The jail continues to hold vaccination clinics; however, only around half of inmates are vaccinated because many choose not to receive the vaccine, the sheriff's office said.

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“We acknowledge that there are repeat offenders who have been ignoring summons to court and causing problems in the Boulder County community," said Sheriff Joe Pelle.

"We need to begin to allow officers to hold people accountable, without throwing the door of the jail wide open and inviting an outbreak."

COVID-19 protocols will still be in effect to protect inmates, jail staff and the Boulder County community, the sheriff's office said.