The Bureau of Indian Affairs has shut down the detention center on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah.

The BIA said the facility was closed due to unsafe conditions and a lack of staff. Contracts have been signed with Duchesne County, Utah, and with Moffatt County, Colorado, to house inmates at county jails.

The BIA's decision caught the Ute Tribe off guard. "We had no notice whatsoever," business committee chairwoman Maxine Natchees told The Deseret Morning News. "They didn't even give us a letter; there was just a verbal notification

Natchees said the BIA knew about problems at the jail for at least two years, particularly in light of the Inspector General's report on the deplorable conditions at Indian Country detention facilities.

Get the Story:
BIA jail for Ute Tribe closed (The Deseret Morning News 3/2)

Inspector General Final Jail Report:
Text | PDF

Inspector General Interim Jail Report:
Text | PDF

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