Our History

The Colorado Jail Association began in 1971 as the Front Range Detention Officers Association.  This informal group was created by several jail staff along the front range to include Fred Oliva from the Denver Sheriffs Department and Frank Henn from the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.  The purpose was to meet regularly to discuss shared problems and solutions within the jails along the front range.  Sometime in the late 1970's, the association reached out to the western slope and began holding meetings in various locations throughout the state. With continued success in gaining more interest from various parts of the state, the group decided to formally change its name to the Colorado Jail Association in 1979.  In 1984, the American Jail Association formally recognized the association and CJA became a charter member of AJA in 1986. The CJA currently has 238 members representing 39 counties along with 20 vendor-members who specialize in corrections supplies and expertise in the great state of Colorado.  The CJA maintains several statewide and national relationships with law enforcement and corrections professional organizations to include; County Sheriff's of Colorado, Transports Across Colorado, American Jail Association and the National Institute of Corrections.