NCJ Number
189036
Journal
American Jails Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: September/October 2000 Pages: 25-28
Date Published
2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the programming, staffing and training, and community interaction of the Ute Indian Tribal Detention Center, which is located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in the Four Corners area of southwestern Colorado.
Abstract
In the early 1990's the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Government recognized the need for a detention facility that would address the needs of the tribal membership and the crime issues unique to the Native American population. The philosophy underlying the funding of a new facility was to provide rehabilitative programs to the Native American inmate population during incarceration. This would be done through programs geared to the cultural impacts that drug and alcohol abuse have on the Native American community. In mid-1997, the tribe began construction of an 8.5-million-dollar justice complex that would house tribal criminal justice agencies, including a new detention center. The facility is designed to hold 55 inmates sentenced out of the tribal court. The project was totally funded by the tribe. Operational funding for the detention center is also exclusively tribally funded. In February 1999, the Southern Ute Tribal Detention Center opened its door and began housing Native Americans charged and sentenced with crimes out of the Southern Ute Tribal Court. Programming for inmates encompasses education in Native American Indian awareness, drug and alcohol therapy, group counseling, one-on-one counseling, an Alcoholics Anonymous program, and basic adult education. The staff is culturally diverse, consisting of Native American, Anglo, and Hispanic employees. Within 6 months of hiring, all staff attend a 160-hour basic detention officer training course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Indian Police Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. Community involvement is a high priority for the Center. Aside from using inmates to conduct various community projects, staff members are encouraged to participate in community activities during work hours.