With the guidance of Undersheriff Stan Bishop, jail Sergeant Bill Cooner oversees the Teller County Jail Division.  The Jail Division of the Teller County Sheriffs Office is responsible for housing on an average of  80 inmates per day.   

For many years the Teller County Sheriffs Office operated its jail located in Cripple Creek, Colorado.  The inside of the old jail was fabricated from an old brig off of a ship and held up to 26 inmates.  As times changed the Teller County Sheriffs Office was forced to vacate the old jail, and build a new jail located in Divide, Colorado.  The new jail was completed in October of 1995 and was operated by a private jail contractor.  The new jail has a capacity of 126 inmates.

In 1999 the Teller County Sheriffs Office once again took over the operation of the jail.  The first year of operation the jail incarcerated 2,206 individuals, 302 of which were gaming related.  At the end of December 2002 the jail incarceration rate almost doubled.  Teller County has a contract with the State of Colorado to house state prisoners along with Federal prisoners, and the United States Air Force as needed and as space permits.

The Teller County Jail operates under ACA (American Correctional Association) guidelines.  The jail division offers multiple programs to help those incarcerated in our facility, such as GED Program, A.A. Classes, Lifeskills, Bible Study, Cenikor (privately operated community corrections program) and Community Service.

In an effort to give back to the community, the Teller County Jail implemented an Alternative Sentencing Program (ASP), which started in October, 2002.  This program offers the client to perform work duties within the community eight hours a day, five days a week, as an alternative to jail time.  So far its been a success.