A3CCB5A3A6227B3D87258A04005CC2E0 Hearing Summary

A panel of Taylor Pendergrass, Director of Advocacy of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, Dr. Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, and Dr. Katherine LeMasters, epidemiologist and assistant professor at CU Anschutz, presented to the committee on alternatives to incarceration. The panel went over the cost and statistics of incarceration in Colorado.

The committee asked about incarceration on rural communities and the panel stated that rural communities can have longer incarceration sentences.

The panel continued to speak on incarceration rates. Alternatives to incarceration include accessible community based treatment, harm reduction, and meeting basic needs. These alternatives can be achieved through systems such as competency support in the courts and short term supportive housing. Policies need to make easier to get into treatment in the least restrictive setting going forward.

The committee asked about incarceration for drug dealers. The panel stated that the majority of drug dealers are small time dealers who are replaceable and that large wholesale dealers are not incarcerated at the same rate.