By Jim Mimiaga

A $9-million federally funded detention center is nearing completion in Towaoc, and law-enforcement officials there are scrambling to hire the dozens of officers and support personnel needed to staff it.

“We really want to get the word out that there are a lot of positions available. There is a lot of opportunity for good jobs here that pay well and have good benefits,” said Towaoc Police Chief Dusty Whiting during a publicity tour of the ultra-modern, 40,000-square-foot facility.

Currently there are 23 full-time positions available for detention officers at the medium-security jail, equipped to house adults and juvenile prisoners, male and female. Those salaries begin at $26,000, and training classes are available for interested Ute Mountain Ute tribal members who meet the requirements for federal employees, mainly that they have no felony criminal record. In addition the Bureau of Indian Affairs is seeking two dispatchers, food-service workers, law-enforcement and detention specialists. The department also has three positions open for police officers.

The 78-bed facility will be operated for at least its first year by the BIA Law Enforcement Division, which also provides police and criminal investigators for the Ute Mountain Ute reservation. That has sparked controversy among tribal leaders, as they would prefer to run the detention center under tribal authority as part of their sovereign status.

But a congressional order handed down last year put a moratorium on all new contracts for Native American tribes, including those involving detention-service operations. The complicated federal initiative is part of a vast four-year study to develop a policy that better determines how liability and equity issues — regarding tribal contracts to run federally-funded services — are dealt with. For instance, who pays (the tribe or feds) for civil-rights violations that might occur under those program agreements, and should government subsidies granted to Native American tribes be lower for tribes with successful gaming operations?

The Ute Mountain Ute tribe returned its police-services contract to the BIA voluntarily in 1992.

Finishing touches on the hulking building, which dwarfs all others in the small community of 1,500, are expected to be completed by the end of the year, according to project superintendent Virgil Gray of Weminuche Construction. Adults and juvenile inmates are housed in distinct, separate quarters as are males and females, and non-violent and violent offenders. Security, infrastructure, and design are all top-notch, Gray said.

“It’s top-of-the-line, very modern, secure, and safe for inmates and officers.”

The facility will mainly house Ute Mountain Utes, although contracting with nearby communities who need space for inmates, such as Montezuma County, is possible and is being discussed. Four cells are maximum-security; long-term sentences will not be fulfilled at the facility, although that could happen pending approval from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, BIA criminal investigator Bill Yazza said.

Other features include a full kitchen, detox center, recreation rooms, medical staff, visitors area, commons, interrogation rooms, booking, and unique exercise yards that have the material needed to construct traditional Native American sweat lodges. Southwest designs, earth-tone stucco, Ute symbols, and circular courtyards add style to the outside of the building. The interior is spacious and designed to admit natural light.

The BIA’s law-enforcement division will relocate from its current cramped quarters to offices within the new complex, and the tribe has long-term plans to consolidate all justice departments by expanding the facility to include the tribal criminal-courts system, now located at the BIA tribal headquarters. Tribal dispatch control for police, fire, ambulance, and wildlife management will also be relocated and upgraded at the new detention center.

Expanded rehabilitation services are a major focus of the new center, officials said during the hour-long tour Tuesday. Inmates will have access to GED courses, counselors, classes on drug- and alcohol-abuse prevention, and behavior reform. Officials predict that the majority of clients will be involved in some sort of work-release program.

“The tribe wants the focus of this center to be on assisting inmates needing recovery from substance abuse, and on an integrated work-release program within the community,” Whiting said. “Particularly with juveniles, the goal is to make sure they are being educated. So it is not meant as a warehouse for prisoners; it’s designed as a model of reform.”

Currently the tribe must transport juveniles to a detention center in Gallup, a situation that eats up resources. Often the BIA sends officers to pick up a juvenile held in Gallup or Grand Junction for a court appearance in Towaoc, only to drive them back that evening, and sometimes repeat the process the next day.

“It’s very time-consuming and takes away officers from our service area,” Whiting said.

The BIA has hired Keith Elliot as the detention center’s adult-inmate supervisor. Elliott hails from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, where he worked for 15 years as a detention officer with a strong history in counseling, literacy, and reform programs.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this organization. This is the most advanced facility I have ever seen,” Elliott said.