The Dona Ana County Detention Center

The Doña Ana County Detention Center has a staff of 197 full-time positions, which include administrative, security, support and medical staff. In addition to county employees, there are 41 contract personnel and, at any given time, up to 67 volunteers.

Deputy Administrator - Operations and Support: Major Cheryl Roach

Adult Detention Facility:

The adult detention facility differs from a traditional linear jail in that there are no bars separating officers and inmates. Instead, they are separated by glass partitions, which allow officers to maintain continuous observation of all inmates and to ensure that inmates are constantly aware that they are under observation.

Housing:

Built in 1995, the facility was originally designed with 562 beds. In 2000, an additional housing unit was added and some remodeling was done to increase the number of beds to 846 and the total living space to 166,543 square feet. Inmates are housed in seven secure housing units. Most inmates share a cell with at least one other inmate.

Population:

The average daily inmate population in calendar year 2004 was 809. Most of the inmates are pre-trial detainees.

Juvenile Detention Center

The 50-bed facility was built in 2000 and opened in 2001. Detention officers are stationed inside the housing unit dayrooms, directly supervising and observing the juveniles and their daily activities. Juveniles are housed in five different units. Each unit is designed to house ten juveniles. Four of the housing units consist of a dayroom, eight single-person cells and one two-person cell. The remaining unit consists of ten single-person cells, a dayroom and a small outside recreation area. It can be utilized as a maximum-security and/or special-management unit when needed.

Population:

When the juvenile facility opened, the daily population averaged approximately 25 juveniles. In calendar year 2004, the facility averaged approximately 54 juveniles. Most of the juveniles are from Doña Ana County, but the facility does house juveniles from other counties and governmental agencies.

Juvenile Programs:

The Las Cruces Public School District provides two full-time teachers for educational classes, allowing the juveniles to maintain their education while incarcerated and earn needed credits toward graduation. In addition, religious programming and life-skills classes are provided. Each detainee is allowed two half-hour family visits per week. Various counseling agencies are available for court-ordered counseling, and some provide individual counseling for detainees when such needs are identified. Recreational activities, commissary and library also are provided.