Jared Polis says Colorado needs a new prison ASAP, even as crime has fallen

[Spike CO]

Politics and Government

Jared Polis says Colorado needs a new prison ASAP, even as crime has fallen. How did we get here?

A parole backlog and new laws lengthening sentences are leading to a surge in the prison population

Taylor Dolven 3:01 AM MDT on Apr 13, 2026

A dramatic decrease in the number of people in prison being granted parole and a slew of recent laws that lengthen sentences is causing Colorado’s adult prison population to balloon, experts and advocates say, even as crime in the state has fallen.

It’s gotten so bad that Gov. Jared Polis is failing to make good, possibly even backtracking, on a key campaign promise to end Colorado’s contracts with private prison companies and reinvest those dollars in alternatives to incarceration.

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