2021 Colorado Code
Title 17 - Corrections
Article 27 - Community Corrections Programs
§ 17-27-101. Legislative Declaration

The general assembly hereby declares that it is the purpose of this article to establish and maintain community corrections programs which provide the courts, the department of corrections, and the state board of parole with more flexibility and a broader range of correctional options for offenders under the jurisdiction of such entities. It is the further purpose of this article to increase public safety and promote community-based correctional programming through collaboration between the state of Colorado and local units of government. It is also the purpose of this article to give local units of government the authority to designate the programs, boards, and networks established under this article to address local criminal justice needs with resources other than those appropriated pursuant to this article.

History. Source: L. 93: Entire article R&RE, p. 708, § 1, effective July 1.

This section is similar to former § 17-27-101 as it existed prior to 1993.

Broader range of alternatives provided. By enacting the community corrections statute, the general assembly provided the sentencing judge with a broader range of alternatives and with a sentencing medium that is more severe than probation, but not as harsh as incarceration. People ex rel. VanMeveren v. District Court, 195 Colo. 34 , 575 P.2d 4 (1978) (decided under repealed § 27-27-101 ).

No private tort remedy available. Although this article imposes duties on administrators of community corrections facilities, those duties are owed directly to the relevant judicial or executive authorities. Members of the general public are incidental beneficiaries of the statute, but are owed no actionable duty by its specific terms. Davenport v. Cmty. Corr. of the Pikes Peak Region, Inc., 942 P.2d 1301 (Colo. App. 1997), aff'd, 962 P.2d 963 (Colo. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1068, 119 S. Ct. 1462, 143 L. Ed. 2d 547 (1999).