Colorado Department of Corrections
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The Colorado Department of Corrections is the principal department of the Colorado state government[1] that operates the state prisons. It has its headquarters in the Springs Office Park in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, near Colorado Springs.[2][3][4] The Colorado Department of Corrections runs 19 state-run prisons and also has been affiliated with 7 for-profit prisons in Colorado, of which the state currently contracts with 2 for-profit prisons.[5][6]
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Colorado DOC facilities are classified at Levels I through V, with Level I correlating to minimum security, Level II correlating to minimum-restrictive security, Level III correlating to medium security, Level IV correlating to close security, and Level V correlating to maximum security.
State-Run Prisons
- Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility (Ordway) - 1,029 inmate capacity (Level III Facility)
- Arrowhead Correctional Center (Cañon City) - 520 inmate capacity (Level II Facility)
- Buena Vista Correctional Facility (Buena Vista) - 1,034 inmate capacity (Level III Facility)
- Centennial Correctional Facility (Cañon City) - 936 inmate capacity (Level V Facility)
- Colorado State Penitentiary (Cañon City) - 725 inmate capacity (Level V Facility)
- Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility (Cañon City) - 921 inmate capacity (Level III Facility)
- Delta Correctional Center (Delta) - 381 inmate capacity (Level I Facility)
- Denver Reception & Diagnostic Center (Denver) - 570 inmate capacity (Intake/Classification Facility)
- Denver Women's Correctional Facility (Denver) - 768 inmate capacity (Mixed Classification Women's Facility)
- Four Mile Correctional Center (Cañon City) - 521 inmate capacity (Level II Facility)
- Fremont Correctional Facility (Cañon City) - 1,601 inmate capacity (Level III Facility)
- La Vista Correctional Facility (Pueblo) - 570 inmate capacity (Level III Women's Facility)
- Limon Correctional Facility (Limon) - 938 inmate capacity (Level IV Facility)
- Rifle Correctional Center (Rifle) - 192 inmate capacity (Level I Facility)
- San Carlos Correctional Facility (Pueblo) - 255 inmate capacity (Level V Facility)
- Skyline Correctional Center (Cañon City) - 126 inmate capacity (Level I Facility)
- Sterling Correctional Facility (Sterling) - 2,320 inmate capacity (Level IV Facility)
- Trinidad Correctional Facility (Model) - 500 inmate capacity (Level II Facility)
- Youthful Offender System (Pueblo)[5]
For-profit prisons
- Bent County Correctional Facility (Las Animas) - 1,387 inmate capacity, Level III Facility. Owned by CoreCivic.[6][5]
- Crowley County Correctional Facility (Olney Springs) - 1,493 inmate capacity, Level III Facility. Owned by CoreCivic.[6][5]
Closed prisons
- Cheyenne Mountain Re-Entry Center (Colorado Springs). Closed in 2020.
- Colorado Correctional Center (Camp George West) (150 inmate capacity) (Golden)
- Fort Lyon Correctional Facility (closed 2012) (Bent County)
- High Plains Correctional Facility (Brush) (closed since 2010) (Last owned and operated by GEO Group)
- Hudson Correctional Facility (Hudson) (closed since 2013) Owned by GEO Group.
- Huerfano County Correctional Facility (Walsenburg). Closed since 2010. Owned by CoreCivic.[6]
- Kit Carson Correctional Center (Burlington) (Private Prison; closed since 2016) Owned by CoreCivic.[6]
- Southern Peaks Regional Treatment Center (Cañon City). Owned by GEO Group.[6][5]
Operations
All male prisoners entering the Colorado DOC system first go to the Denver Reception & Diagnostic Center (DRDC) before going to their assigned facilities, while female prisoners are sent to the Denver Women's Correctional Facility for processing. Assignments are primarily determined by security level, and each facility can accommodate inmates of different security levels.[7]
In 2012, the state of Colorado had no designated death row. All prisoners with death sentences were given classifications of "Close", the highest custody designation possible. As of 2017, all prisoners with death sentences are located at the Sterling Correctional Facility. The execution chamber is located at the Colorado State Penitentiary. By state statute, executions took place there.[8] The death penalty was abolished in 2020.[9]
From the 1890s to the 1990s, the Colorado death row was located at the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility.[10] The execution chamber was also located in this prison.[11] In the 1990s, the Colorado State Penitentiary opened.[10] Previously state statute dictated that prisoners with death sentences were to be held at the administrative segregation facility at the Colorado State Penitentiary.[12] In 2011 the State of Colorado moved its death row prisoners in order to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Nathan Dunlap, a death row prisoner. Dunlap had complained about the state's lack of outdoor exercise facilities at Colorado State Penitentiary.[10] The Crowley County facility experienced two major riots involving Colorado and Washington state prisoners, the first in 1999 when operated by Correctional Services Corporation and the second on July 20, 2004, when owned and operated by the Corrections Corporation of America, and involving Wyoming inmates as well.[13][14][15][16]
From the end of 2024, the Colorado Department of Corrections will implement policies for transgender inmates - regarding gender-affirming healthcare and other related issues. This was bought about with a court "settlement" from a lawsuit.[17]
Fallen officers and officials
Since the establishment of the Colorado Department of Corrections, 17 officers have died while on duty, including Executive Director Tom Clements.[18]
See also
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- List of law enforcement agencies in Colorado
- List of United States state correction agencies
- List of U.S. state prisons
References
- ↑ C.R.S. § 24-1-110
- ↑ "FAQ Script error: No such module "webarchive".." Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on June 3, 2010. "Colorado Department of Corrections 2862 South Circle Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80906"
- ↑ "Council District Map Script error: No such module "webarchive".." City of Colorado Springs. Retrieved on December 7, 2009.
- ↑ "Foreclosure filings jump in March Increase blamed on backlog at S&Ls." The Colorado Springs Gazette. April 6, 1989. Retrieved on September 28, 2011. "[...]million made in 1986 on the Springs Office Park, 2860-2862 S. Circle Drive."
- ↑ a b c d e "[1]." Evaluation of Colorado Department of Corrections Budgeting Practices. Retrieved on July 9 2025.
- ↑ a b c d e f "[2]." Prison Jobs to Return? Walsenburg currently awaits state's decision. Retrieved on January 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Denver Reception & Diagnostic Center Script error: No such module "webarchive".." Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
- ↑ "Death Row FAQ Script error: No such module "webarchive".." () Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on April 19, 2012.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Mitchell, Kirk. "Colorado moves death-row inmates so they can exercise outdoors Script error: No such module "webarchive".." Denver Post. July 28, 2011. Retrieved on April 19, 2012.
- ↑ Kirby, Jen. "Photos: A Haunting Look at America’s Execution Chambers" (). New York (magazine). May 16, 2014. Retrieved on September 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Death Row FAQ Script error: No such module "webarchive".." (Archive) Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
- ↑ McPrison, Westword, Alan Prendergast, September 30, 1999. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ↑ Columbia Prison Divest ACSRI proposal, Columbia University. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ↑ Going Off, Westword, Alan Prendergast, December 23, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ The Officer Down Memorial Page
External links
Template:State prisons in Colorado Template:Colorado state agencies Template:Incarceration in the United States
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