NEWS

Larimer jail, taxpayers bear high cost of homelessness

Jason Pohl
jasonpohl@coloradoan.com
Ross Bloom has been booked in to the Larimer County Jail 53 times since 1994. Here are a selection of his booking photos over the years.

Ross Bloom has spent more time living on the streets of Fort Collins than most residents have called the city home.

He's witnessed Fort Collins — especially his Midtown stomping grounds and street corners — evolve as its population more than tripled. He's heard rhetoric surrounding issues of homelessness grow more vitriolic.

Over the past four decades Bloom, 58, has become more and more of a loner who would rather panhandle a couple bucks and risk being arrested for missed court dates than abide by the rules Fort Collins says he should live by.

“I’m comfortable the way I am," Bloom said over teriyaki noodles on a recent Saturday afternoon. "I have no problem with the way I live. As long as I can survive, I have no problem with it."

Bloom has also been booked into the Larimer County Jail more than 50 times in the last three decades. He has been arrested 28 times in the last five years.

As one of four men most frequently sent to the jail since 2012, Bloom is the embodiment of a broader issue in the so-called Choice City. Efforts to stamp out homelessness in Fort Collins continue to crash up against the wishes of residents who are homeless by choice.

While much discussion has been given to real and perceived damages levied upon the city by a transient population that swells and recedes with the seasons, a small group of resource-resistant full-time residents is costing Larimer County taxpayers thousands of dollars every year.

Ten homeless men were arrested 238 separate times from 2012 through 2016. They served a combined 4,668 inmate days at the county jail, costing taxpayers an estimated $500,000 in jail operations alone, according to a Coloradoan analysis of jail records. Records reveal that the 20 individuals most frequently booked into the jail — primarily arrested in Fort Collins for misdemeanor crimes like trespassing, disorderly conduct or missed court dates — accounted for nearly 7,500 inmate days, the equivalent of more than 20 years of jail time served.

More: Study: Ending homelessness for 4 saves thousands

The men share these commonalities: Homeless. Substance dependent. Mentally unwell.

“It’s a compounding issue," said Capt. Tim Palmer, who oversees the Larimer County Jail. "And the person at fault is the person who continually violates exactly what society’s given them a second chance at. That being said, does that mean that what we’re doing as a criminal justice system is going at the wrong approach? Potentially. I don’t know the answer to that.”

How to deal with transience, chronic homelessness and related issues of substance abuse and mental health are poised to polarize Fort Collins for another summer. After county voters in November rejected a ballot issue that would have pledged $16.5 million annually to build and operate the county's first public mental health and substance abuse treatment center, options for those who can't afford private treatment remain limited.

Meanwhile, city officials have considered jailing offenders responsible for "disruptive behaviors" in the city's center, even as the jail bursts at its seams. City council has worked through ordinance modifications affecting how and where people can rest downtown — a move that some believe essentially targeted homeless people.

More: Fewer traffic tickets in Fort Collins? Records say it's so

And when it comes to resources, the community is divided with some saying more help is needed for those experiencing homelessness as others maintain an abundance of local resources for the homeless is a driving force behind the issue in the first place.

“Our society doesn’t match their way of life," Palmer said. "Is there a solution for that? It’s a whole lot bigger than the criminal justice system, I know that.”

'I don’t have to answer to anybody'

Bloom's sense of time is somewhat warped.

As he tells it, he has lived in Fort Collins since 1968. He installed sprinkler systems and did landscaping work until "physical injuries" did him in. A fight several years ago left him with a brain injury — he doesn't remember much about the incident, but there are photos somewhere of his smashed-in face, he said.

Subscribe: Want more of this type of in-depth journalism? Find subscription deals here

He took to the streets not long after that, much to his parents' dismay.

That was 10 or 15 years ago, he said, though it appears that was more like 20 years ago, based on Bloom's arrest and court records.

Bloom makes no qualms about his lifestyle. He calls the area of Prospect Road and College Avenue home, and his criminal record includes pages of trespass charges, open alcohol container violations and missed court dates.

More: Old Town Fort Collins arrest video sparks social media stir

“This year already I’ve been in jail four times,” Bloom said, a hint of boast apparent in his voice. Asked whether he would have any interest in working a job if one arose that he was able to do, Bloom reflected, if just for a moment.

“I’m not too sure anymore," he said. "When you’re homeless, you don’t have to answer to anybody but yourself. I don’t have a boss. It’s kind of like a mountain-man type thing. I don’t have to answer to anybody.”

He paused once more.

"Besides court!" Bloom let off a gruff laugh, audible across the Midtown restaurant. “But to some degree, it’s freedom.”

'Certainly startling'

So-called low-level frequent flyers at the Larimer County Jail have exacerbated overcrowding issues that have been apparent for years.

Roughly one-third of the approximately 570 inmates at the Larimer County Jail on any given day identify as homeless or transient, a proportion that has ballooned in recent years. Some are being held for technical violations like missed court dates or misdemeanor charges. Most in custody are charged with assaults, robberies or other felonies.

Story continues below the graph

Jail staffers who recently reworked the estimated cost of housing an inmate for one day in jail determined the most accurate value is $117 per day. After obtaining a report of the most-booked people, the Coloradoan's review found eight people had been arrested or held for detox more than 20 times over the past five years, at an estimated combined cost of $546,156.

That surging amount of money spent on detaining the homeless doesn't factor in other related expenses, like trips to the emergency room or other unforeseen costs.

Mark Silverstein, legal director of the Colorado arm of the American Civil Liberties Union's Colorado, said it was "certainly startling" to see the arrest numbers and charges levied against the most frequently jailed individuals in Larimer County. A longtime critic of what's referred to as the criminalization of poverty, Silverstein said bluntly, "the current system isn't working."

"I think that this shows police, jails and law enforcement aren’t the solution to poverty, to homelessness or to the minor offenses that are often associated with homelessness," Silverstein said.

Locked downLarimer County Jail reaching its limit

Though answers are elusive, Silverstein pointed to a clear need for increased treatment and connective resources to ensure more offenders make court dates — he used the analogy of a dentist's persistence in sending appointment reminders.

He also acknowledged some people, like Bloom, might remain outliers.

It's a point of agreement for those involved in law enforcement and criminal justice arenas.

With 16 years at Fort Collins Police Services, Lt. Jerrod Kinsman first encountered Bloom about 10 years ago after business owners in the area of Prospect and College called in a complaint about a panhandler on the corner.

Kinsman has come to know Bloom a bit better over the past decade, not unlike how he's become versed in the stories of several of the city's most frequently jailed homeless residents.

More: Fort Collins police lawsuit payouts rare, yet costly

"It’s a social issue without a doubt, and it’s not solved by the criminal justice system alone,” Kinsman said, stressing a clear need for resources in substance-abuse treatment and addressing the root causes of homelessness.

"We need the serious solutions behind mental health, alcohol and drug treatment," he said. "That’s where we should be investing our resources in our community if we want to effect change with some of these people."

'The price of freedom'

Some jail staffers, police officers and even restaurant employees in Midtown Fort Collins call Bloom by his first name, Ross.

He doesn't think that best captures who he is.

“I feel like Otis," he said, referring to Otis Campbell, Mayberry's fictional town drunk from "The Andy Griffith Show." Otis would regularly clock out of his job at the furniture factory, over-indulge and then check himself into the jail until he sobered up.

With the exception of a couple bucks he hopes to panhandle from time to time, Bloom isn't interested in handouts for homeless people.

He was reluctant about letting a reporter pay for his half-size teriyaki noodle bowl and cup of water.

Too many other people have taken advantage of "the system" and jammed it up, he said, taking resources from those with more chronic disabilities, both physical and mental. They're the ones who really need the help, Bloom said.

Bloom has his vices — cigarettes and Steel Reserve beer. But he isn't sympathetic for the relatively more hardened offenders he occasionally has to mingle with when he arrives for another stint in jail.

“Everybody whines about why they’re in jail and you just gotta tell them to shut up. You messed up. You’re in jail," he said. "They’re in there for a good reason. Drugs. Domestic violence. ... I just tell them shut up. I don’t want to hear your whining.”

People like Bloom aren't the majority of those experiencing homelessness in Fort Collins. While he's homeless by choice and resists help, many more are not. Where he keeps to himself and avoids hot spots like Old Town, others do not. Where some become belligerent, Bloom adheres to his "golden rule" of not smoking or drinking anywhere kids can see.

More:5 things to know about marijuana money and schools

After Bloom finished the remaining teriyaki sauce and his cup of water, he pondered where he'd spend the rest of the afternoon, where he'd sleep at night.

“I’ve got a beer in my backpack. I’ve got a dollar or two, maybe get a cigar and go hide," he said, suggesting he'll disappear to a park, out of sight. “Out of mind."

Bloom's warrants and cases have all been closed. But police and jail staff know it's only a matter of time before he returns to the county jail on Midpoint Drive.

“This is the price of freedom. Mr. Bloom has the freedom to live any way he wants to. But his freedom is costing our community a lot of money by the choice and the way that he lives, in the decisions that he makes," Palmer said. "And the choices that he makes in terms of not going to court, of not following the societal norms that we’ve developed in our community.

"That’s the price of freedom. And It’s an unfortunate price of freedom. But it is a price of freedom.”

Reporter Jason Pohl covers criminal justice for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.