The Custer County Jail is located in the small town of Westcliffe, CO, which is about 55 miles west of Pueblo and 30 miles south of Cañon City. This is a small detention facility for men only, with a total of 12 beds in six cell pods.
The address of the Custer County Sheriff’s department and detention center is 702 Rosita Ave., located near the intersection of highways 96 and 69. The phone number is (719) 783-2270. Undersheriff Chris Barr also provides his email address ([email protected]) for public communication, and is available on a limited basis to answer questions.
Under the jurisdiction of Sheriff Shannon Byerly, the Custer County Jail houses suspected offenders who are waiting to see a judge (typically by the day following arrest) as well as men convicted of a Colorado misdemeanor or a Colorado felony crime. The Custer County Sheriff’s Department accepts inmates from several nearby counties, as space is available.
As a service to inmates and their friends and families, detailed information is provided below about the Custer County Jail. In this article, our team of Colorado criminal defense lawyers will cover the following topics:
- 1. Locating a Potential Inmate
- 2. Bail Bonding in Custer County
- 3. Communication by Phone
- 4. Funding Inmate Cash Accounts
- 5. Custer County Inmate Visitation
- 6. Mail for Inmates
- 7. Jail Safety
- 8. Work Release in Custer County
- 9. Inmate Property Pick-up
- 10. Help from a Lawyer
1. Locate a Custer County Inmate
To find out if someone you know has been taken into custody in Custer County, you can call the sheriff’s office directly at (719) 783-2770. Note that female offenders arrested in Custer County will be taken to the Fremont County Detention Facility in Cañon City. Juveniles may be safely detained for up to six hours at the Custer County jail, but then will be transported to the Pueblo Youth Center for further evaluation or incarceration.
Other than phoning the jail, friends and family members can locate a Custer County inmate using the national VINE website. At https://www.vinelink.com/#/search, you can obtain custody status and location for any individual detained by U.S. law enforcement. Detainees and inmates are identified by date of birth, age, and race.
2. Bail Bonding Specifics
In many cases, bail can be posted to temporarily free the arrestee pending his court date. The amount of bail is set by the court judge, usually within a day of arrest. In Custer County, you can come in to the sheriff’s office to pay bail at any time of the day or night. Payment at the office must be made in cash. During normal business hours, the office can make change, but if you are coming in the evening or weekends, you will need to bring exact change for bail.
You can find out the bail amount ahead of time by calling the office at (719) 783-2770. Note that an additional sheriff’s office fee of $40 will be added to bail, also payable in cash.
If you do not have cash, you can use a licensed bonding agency to post a bail guarantee on your inmate’s behalf. A fee will be charged by the bail bondsman. Please be aware that any bail money you provide, or collateral you put up to guarantee a bond, may be forfeited if the court date is missed. Learn more about bail at this webpage: How to post bail in Colorado.
3. Telephone Communication
All incoming detainees receive at least one free phone call at the Custer County facility. After this, phone calls must be made “collect” or with a prepaid phone card. Family and friends cannot call in to speak directly to inmates.
You can bring in cash or money orders to purchase phone cards from the sheriff’s office. (Money orders should be made out in the inmate’s name.) The phone cards must be purchased for dollar amounts in $5 increments. You can also deposit money online to purchase a phone card for an inmate to use. The Custer County jail accepts phone funds purchased through the https://ffportal.encartele.net/ website.
4. Inmate Cash Accounts
Although the Custer County jail is too small to house a commissary, an officer makes a weekly trip to a nearby grocery store to buy selected items for inmates. You can provide funds for the inmate to use to purchase extra food items and other approved luxuries. To deposit funds in your friend or loved one’s account, you can bring in cash or a money order made out to the inmate. Alternatively, you can send a money order by mail addressed to the inmate care of:
Custer County Sheriff’s Office
P.O. Box 1489
Westcliffe, CO 81252
At this time, the jail does not accept inmate funds sent via Internet websites.
5. Inmate Visitation in Custer County
Visitation at the jail is every Sunday between 1:00 and 4 p.m. You must call the jail at least 24 hours in advance to schedule your 30-minute appointment. Visitors can speak directly to the inmate in a visiting booth with window separations and phone handsets. The Custer County jail is not set up to accommodate “video visits” through home computers.
Clergy and legal counsel are permitted to visit privately with inmates any day of the week. All other visitors must make an appointment . Please be advised that visit appointments cannot be guaranteed. Due to limited staffing, visits are subject to cancellation if the detention officer on duty must be otherwise engaged.
Rules for visits include the following:
- Photo identification will be checked for all visitors.
- Children under 18 may visit as long as they are accompanied by an adult.
- You may not visit if you have been incarcerated in the jail within the past six months.
- Dress appropriately for your visit, which means no suggestive or revealing clothing.
- Cell phones and keys must be left behind. (These can be checked in and held in the office.)
- You may not bring in anything to give to the inmate during the visit.
- Unruly, disruptive, destructive, or threatening behavior will immediately terminate your visit, and you may be prevented from scheduling additional appointments.
6. Mail for Custer County Inmates
To send mail to an inmate, address the envelope to his name care of:
Custer County Sheriff’s Office
P.O. Box 1489
Westcliffe, CO 81252
Note that all mail will be opened and inspected for contraband. You can enclose photographs in the envelope, but no nudes or pornographic material is allowed. You may not send any kind of packages to inmates, but you can send reading material directly from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Inmates are limited to two books and two magazines at a time.
7. Safety at the Jail
According to Undersheriff Barr, the Custer County jail is a safe place for inmates to serve time. The staff is helpful and works hard to create a safe, comfortable environment. There is no gang activity at the jail, and the typical inmate is a nonviolent offender serving a sentence of two years or less. Detention center staff closely observe inmates and violence is an infrequent occurrence.
Inmates have the ability to report any incidences of sexual harassment in the jail, but this has reportedly not been an issue. Chaplain and Alcoholics Anonymous visitors are regularly scheduled, and professional mental health care is available, if needed.
Inmates are provided with meals and basic toiletries. The food at the Custer County jail is said to be a cut above typical detention fare, cooked onsite in small, home-style batches. There are television privileges, a library, and a recreation yard. Some inmates are allowed to work outdoors cleaning cars and performing other assigned tasks.
Any prescription medications that need to be filled are taken care of by deputies. (Family members may not bring in medication for the inmate.)
8. Work Release
Some judges who sentence offenders recommend a work release opportunity, meaning the inmate may be allowed to leave the facility to work at an outside job. This privilege is granted by the sheriff’s office based upon inmate application. In Custer County, the sheriff will carefully consider work release requests, which may be granted depending upon the severity of the offense, inmate behavior, and proof of a valid employment opportunity.
9. Property Retrieval
Personal property brought into the jail is taken from the inmate and stored during incarceration. The inmate can allow a friend or relative to pick up his property, if desired. The inmate must sign a release of the property to a specific individual, and photo identification will be required for property pick up.
10. Help From a Lawyer
An experienced defense lawyer can help you successfully fight Colorado criminal charges, preventing unwanted penalties such as a jail sentence and permanent record. For help today, call (303) 222-0330, or schedule a free consultation by contacting the Colorado Legal Defense Group online.