Detention History
In 1881 after incorporation Yavapai County decided to rent courtroom space in a two-story wood building on the corner of Gurley and Cortez Street. The ground floor held the jail and the upper floor provided offices and meeting places for the county commissioners.
In 1940 the Yavapai County Northern Detention Center opened in Prescott. This site served as the County's only jail until the construction of the Camp Verde Detention Center in ____. With the explosion of the County's population in the early 2000s the Camp Verde Jail was expanded in the early 2000’s under the “New Generation Jail” design, which allowed for new programs such as those below to be implemented.
- Restore To Competency (RTC) Program.
YCSO is one of only three Counties in AZ with the RTC program (Pima, Maricopa, Yavapai), competency restoration is the process used when an individual charged with a crime is found by a court to be incompetent to stand trial, typically due to an active mental illness or an intellectual disability. A criminal defendant must be restored to competency before the legal process can continue. To be considered restored and competent to stand trial, a defendant must be able to consult with his or her defense lawyer and have a rational and factual understanding of the legal proceedings. It is an important program for providing resources to the detained during the adjudication process. RTC has returned a significant number of enrolled inmates to sufficient mental competency and as a result they were able to stand trial.
- YCSO’s creation of Yavapai Justice and Mental Health Coalition
The Yavapai Justice and Mental Health Coalition is a collaborative effort with local mental health services to provide “Crisis Services” to those in need. Crisis Services may include Crisis Intervention Phone Services, Mobile Crisis Intervention, and 24-hour Crisis Observation/Stabilization post detainee release. According to the coalition “This is achieved through the Reach Out Program designed to help identify people with mental health and co-occurring disorders at the earliest possible criminal justice center intercept, thereby linking them to care, attempting to support them from re-offending.”
3. Pretrial Diversion Program
Pretrial Diversion Programs are an alternate method for low level offenders whose offense is related to substance abuse. The program diverts criminal cases from formal court proceedings, allowing potential dismissal of charges if the program is successfully completed. Current partners in the coalition include, Spectrum Health Care, Yavapai County Community Health Services, Southwest Behavioral & Health Services, Coalition for Compassion and Justice, Yavapai Education Services Agency, Yavapai County Public Defender’s Office, Yavapai County Attorney’s Office, West Yavapai Guidance Clinic, local Police Departments, and community members.
In 2023, Yavapai County will open a new jail site in Prescott, closing the old location that has been in the Sheriff's Office building since the 1940s.