La Plata Facility Overview
La Plata County Detention Facility is operated by the La Plata County Sheriff's Office Detentions Division. The Sheriff's Office describes the jail as the largest detention facility in Southwest Colorado and says its mission is to maintain custody of inmates legally committed until release by due process of law. The facility is a county jail, not a Colorado state prison, BOP prison, or ICE detention center. It serves the local booking and detention role for arrests by law-enforcement agencies in La Plata County.
The facility population is mixed. Official county sources say the jail houses males and females arrested on misdemeanor and felony charges, people sentenced to the La Plata County Jail, people sentenced to the Colorado Department of Corrections while still locally held, and Federal Marshals detainees when accepted. For broader context on county custody and lookup routes, the La Plata County inmate records page separates local jail custody from CDOC, BOP, and ICE searches.
The official La Plata County Detentions Division page gives the facility role, jail phone, capacity narrative, programs, and custody mission.
The county page is the source for the facility's local jail role and the published capacity tied to the 2009 addition.
La Plata Jail Capacity
The Sheriff's Detentions Division page states that a March 2009 construction project added 118 beds and 7 cell blocks, bringing the La Plata County Detention Facility's total capacity to 297. An August 8, 2024 sheriff letter to Durango stated that the current jail population was in excess of appropriate capacity. That letter did not publish an exact headcount, but it used 170 inmates as the operational threshold for accepting people held only on City ordinance violations during the agreement period.
Those two figures should not be merged. The 297 number is the facility's published total capacity after the 2009 addition. The 170 number was used in the 2024 city-jail-services notice as a space and acceptance threshold for City ordinance arrestees. The La Plata County inmate population overview discusses that capacity context alongside the single-facility map for the county.
La Plata Facility Inmate Lookup
La Plata County does not publish a county-branded roster table on the inmate-search page. Instead, the official county page routes current jail custody to VINELink's Colorado person search. That is the right lookup path for a person currently in the La Plata County Detention Facility. CDOC, BOP, and ICE are separate systems and should be used only when the person is in state prison, federal custody, or immigration custody.
- Open the official La Plata County inmate-search page and choose the current county jail custody option.
- Search VINE by name under Colorado person search. Use full legal names when possible.
- Open the matching result and use "More Info" to confirm the custody agency and Offender ID.
- If VINE does not find the person, call the jail information line or check CDOC, BOP, and ICE based on the custody type.
The county inmate-search routing page shows the local split between VINE, CDOC, and ICE custody searches.
That page is especially useful when a person recently left the county jail or moved into another custody system after sentencing or a hold.
La Plata Facility Contact
The jail public address is separate from the Sheriff's Records Department address. Use the jail address and jail phone for facility questions, custody confirmation, visitation rules, inmate mail, and deposits. Use Sheriff's Records at 283 Girard Street for closed criminal reports and public-records requests.
La Plata County Detention Facility
742 Turner Drive
Durango, CO 81303
970-247-1161, ext. 2
Jail information line
Sheriff's Records Department
283 Girard Street
Durango, CO 81303
970-247-1157
Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
La Plata Jail Visitation
La Plata County uses on-site and remote video visits under Detentions Division rules. GettingOut is the vendor for visitation setup and related tablet services. Visitors must be 18 unless accompanied by an adult, children cannot be left unattended, and on-site visits are limited to two visitors at a time with an exception for a child under 2 held on a lap. The county states that visits may be denied, cancelled, terminated, or restricted for misconduct, court orders, emergencies, rule violations, or inmate conduct.
| Visitation Topic | La Plata County Rule |
|---|---|
| Visit types | On-site and remote video visits. |
| Scheduling/vendor | GettingOut account setup; customer care 1-866-516-0115. |
| Visitor age | Visitors must be 18 unless accompanied by an adult. |
| On-site visitor count | Two visitors at a time, with a child-under-2 lap exception. |
| Allowed items | Keys and identification only in the visitation area. |
| Barred items | Bags, purses, phones, electronics, and other personal items. |
| Published hours | Specific hours are not published on the official visitation page. |
The official La Plata County visitation rules page lists on-site and remote visit rules, ID and property limits, dress restrictions, and conduct rules.
Because specific hours are not published on the official visitation page, visitors should confirm available sessions through GettingOut or the jail before travel.
La Plata Jail Mail
La Plata County's mail rules changed in two ways that matter for families and attorneys. Effective September 1, 2024, the facility no longer accepts books or magazines for inmates. Books remain available through tablets and the in-house library. Effective December 11, 2025, personal mail moves to a Jonesboro, Arkansas processing address, while legal mail and money orders continue to use the physical Durango jail address.
| Mail Type | Address or Rule |
|---|---|
| Personal mail | La Plata County Jail, Name of inmate, Inmate Name Number, P.O. Box 16120, Jonesboro, AR 72401. |
| Legal mail | Inmate's Name, c/o La Plata County Jail, 742 Turner Drive, Durango, CO 81303. |
| Money orders | Inmate Payments, c/o La Plata County Jail, 742 Turner Drive, Durango, CO 81303. |
| Allowed personal mail | Letters and photographs. Polaroids and computer-generated color photos are not allowed. |
| Not accepted | Books, magazines, postcards, greeting cards, stamps, extra paper, gifts, and mail with perfume or lipstick. |
The county's mail and books page shows the personal-mail address change, book and magazine ban, legal-mail address, and prohibited items.
Keeping legal mail, money orders, and personal mail in separate channels helps avoid returned or rejected mail.
La Plata Money Phone
Money, bond, phone, and tablet services use several vendors. TouchPay is used for online and phone deposits and can be used for bond or account funding. The county lists Facility ID 781303 and states that the inmate ID is required. The VINE "More Info" view can show the Offender ID needed for TouchPay. The lobby kiosk accepts cash, credit card, or debit card for account deposits. A service fee is charged.
| Service | Provider or Detail |
|---|---|
| Commissary deposit | Lobby kiosk, TouchPay online, or phone deposits at 1-866-232-1899. |
| Facility ID | 781303 for TouchPay transactions. |
| Debt balance | If jail debt exists, 60% of each deposit goes to debt and 40% goes to commissary or phone time. |
| Phone account | TouchPay adds money for calls. |
| Phone support | ICSolutions Friends and Family Services, 888-506-8407, customer@ICSolutions.com. |
| Tablet services | GettingOut supports messages, photos, incoming mail access, and visitation appointment acceptance. |
The La Plata inmate money page lists deposit methods, TouchPay use, Facility ID 781303, service-fee notice, and the debt-allocation rule.
Those details are also relevant to bond because the county's bond page ties TouchPay use to the VINE Offender ID.
La Plata Work Release
The Detentions Division names counseling, drug and alcohol therapy, educational opportunities, inmate worker programs, Work Release, and chaplain services through Good News Jail & Prison Ministry. Work Release reopened July 1, 2022. The program is for non-violent misdemeanor and low-level felony offenders approved to leave jail for verified work while serving a sentence. The Sheriff's Office determines eligibility, and the sentencing order must state that the sentence is to be served with work release if approved.
Work Release applications must be received at least three weeks before the court-ordered report-to-jail date. Employment must be within the Sixth Judicial District, which includes Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan Counties. Automatic or likely bars include domestic violence charges, sex-offense convictions, extraditable holds, and outstanding warrants. Pending felony charges, current felony sentences, bond or probation revocations, parole revocations, and restraining orders are reviewed case by case.
The official La Plata County Work Release page gives the coordinator phone, office hours, application timing, eligibility limits, and employment-area rule.
Work Release is not automatic just because a sentence mentions it. Approval remains with the Sheriff's Office after review.
La Plata Jail Records
Older booking records, closed criminal reports, and some facility-related records are handled through the Sheriff's Records Department rather than VINE. The records office is at 283 Girard Street, Durango, with public hours Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The county says customers must show photo identification for case reports, only closed criminal reports can be released to the public, and criminal justice records are handled under CCJRA rather than ordinary CORA.
Substantial requests can trigger hard-copy and staff-time charges. La Plata County lists hard copies at $0.25 per page and staff time at $41.37 per hour when production involves more than 25 pages or more than one hour of staff time. The office can close an abandoned request if the requester does not respond within 10 business days after the department tries to clarify or discuss the request.
Note: Confirm custody, visit approval, mail rules, and deposit details with the jail before travel or payment.