In June of this year, the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center underwent a four day audit by the United States Department of Justice.  This is the first Prison Rape Elimination Act Audit to be conducted at the Criminal Justice Center.  Of the 43 standards, we exceeded 8, met 33 and two were not applicable.

In 2003, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act, known as PREA, in an effort to eliminate sexual abuse in correctional (confinement) settings. The passing of this Act resulted in the establishment of the National Prison Rape Elimination Committee (NPREC). This committee developed national standards designed to prevent, detect, and respond to prison rape, which were finalized in 2012. Four sets of standards were developed for the following types of confinement settings:

(1) adult prisons and jails
(2) juvenile facilities
(3) community corrections facilities
(4) temporary holding facilities

The results of the audit are attached to this Media Release and will be posted on the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office website. To our knowledge we are the first county jail in Colorado to pass this Audit.

Sheriff Elder stated "the sworn and civilian members of the Sheriff's Office who work in the Detention Bureau are dedicated men and woman who are proud of their ability to ensure inmates are housed in a safe, secure and constitutionally sound manner.  I am very proud of their accomplishment."