By: Tak Landrock
t.landrock@krdotv.com

EL PASO COUNTY - Criminals who commit crimes this weekend may not end up in jail.

On Thursday, Sheriff Terry Maketa sent a letter to local law enforcement officers informing them the Criminal Justice Center (CJC) was near capacity. He writes if all beds are taken, the jail will stop allowing new arrests into the facility.

"As beds in the facility become available, those arrestees charged with Felony one or two crimes will be accepted first." The letter adds that mandatory arrests, such as; domestic violence and felony warrants will be the next priority.

The Criminal Justice Center has had overcrowding problems for years. In 2005, the Metro Facility in Downtown Colorado Springs was forced to shut down after a report cited it was a hazard to inmates. The closure forced the Sheriff to move inmates to other facilities, including CJC.

Earlier this year, the Sheriff opened a tent jail for work release inmates, which helped the problem for six months. "We hope it will be short term and we feel we're experiencing a peak in our population," says Sheriff Maketa.

He tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 "It's something we need to work through until we can mitigate the shortage of beds."