Colorado § 17-27-102 - Definitions.

§ 17-27-102. Definitions.

As used in this article 27, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Administrative review process" means a sequence of actions that includes written notification to an offender of the decision to reject and terminate program placement, a brief explanation of the reason for the termination, instructions for the offender to request review of the action of the community corrections board or community corrections program, and a method for the community corrections board or community corrections program to informally review the rejection and termination.

(2) "Community corrections board" means the governing body of any unit of local government, any combinations of such governing bodies for the purpose of this article, or any separate board created by any governing body or bodies pursuant to this article.

(2.5) "Community corrections facility" means a facility used by a community corrections program.

(3) "Community corrections program" means a community-based or community-oriented program that provides supervision of offenders pursuant to this article. Such program shall be operated by a unit of local government, the department, or any private individual, partnership, corporation, or association. Such program may provide residential or nonresidential services for offenders, monitoring of the activities of offenders, oversight of victim restitution and community service by offenders, programs and services to aid offenders in obtaining and holding regular employment, programs and services to aid offenders in enrolling in and maintaining academic courses, programs and services to aid offenders in participating in vocational training programs, programs and services to aid offenders in utilizing the resources of the community, meeting the personal and family needs of such offenders, programs and services to aid offenders in obtaining appropriate treatment for such offenders, programs and services to aid offenders in participating in whatever specialized programs exist within the community, day reporting programs, and such other services and programs as may be appropriate to aid in offender rehabilitation and public safety.

(3.5) "Community parole officer" means an officer who is an employee of the department and is a peace officer, as described in sections 16-2.5-101 and 16-2.5-136, C.R.S., with the powers and duties described in section 17-27-105.5.

(3.7) "Distribution of offender populations" means the total number of offenders in, and the total number of offenders approved for placement in, a community corrections program, by judicial district.

(4) "Governing body" means the board or council of elected or appointed officials which is responsible for governing any unit of local government, such as a city council or a board of county commissioners.

(5) "Nongovernmental agency" means any private individual, partnership, corporation, or association.

(6) "Offender" means any person accused of or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor as defined by the laws of the state of Colorado.

(6.3) "Program availability" means the number of available community corrections beds and a community corrections program's financial viability when considering the state's reimbursement rate and other state and nonstate sources of revenue.

(6.7) "Projected need" means the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety's best estimate of the future distribution of offender populations in community corrections, by judicial district and placement type, based on:

(a) Correctional population projections provided pursuant to section 24-33.5-503 (1)(m);

(b) The number of inmates expected to be eligible for a referral to community corrections under existing law;

(c) The number of offenders under the department of corrections' supervision and the number of offenders referred from the courts who are expected to be accepted into community corrections programs; and

(d) The division of criminal justice's knowledge of expected changes in program capacity and availability.

(7) "Referring agency" means the agency which maintains legal jurisdiction over any offender referred to or placed in a community corrections program such as the sentencing court, the department of corrections, or the state board of parole.

(8) "Unit of local government" means any county, city and county, city, town, or service authority which may be established pursuant to section 17 of article XIV of the state constitution.

Source: L. 93: Entire article R&RE, p. 708, § 1, effective July 1. L. 96: (3) amended, p. 122, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2000: (3.5) added, p. 228, § 1, effective March 29. L. 2003: (3.5) amended, p. 1625, § 50, effective August 6. L. 2008: (3.5) amended, p. 658, § 10, effective April 25. L. 2013: (3.5) amended, (HB 13-1300), ch. 316, p. 1676, § 38, effective August 7. L. 2017: IP amended and (2.5) added, (HB 17-1330), ch. 374, p. 1937, § 2, effective August 9. L. 2026: IP amended and (3.7), (6.3), and (6.7) added, (HB 26-1423), ch. 332, p. 1963, § 1, effective June 2.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 17-27-102 as it existed prior to 1993.

ANNOTATION

This section does not exclude persons who have been convicted of two prior felonies from community correctional programs. People ex rel. VanMeveren v. District Court, 195 Colo. 34, 575 P.2d 4 (1978) (decided under repealed § 27-27-102).

Person convicted of felony menacing was a "nonviolent" offender since felony menacing is not a crime of violence as defined in § 16-11-309. People v. Patrick, 683 P.2d 801 (Colo. App. 1983).

This section and § 17-27-103 entitle any person who is rejected after acceptance in a community corrections program to request an administrative hearing. However, the eight-year prison sentence imposed on a defendant without a previous administrative hearing would not be overturned where he failed to raise the issue before the trial court and records in evidence showed sufficient grounds for defendant's termination from community corrections. People v. Pauley, 42 P.3d 57 (Colo. App. 2001).

Applied in People v. Nix, 45 Colo. App. 195, 610 P.2d 1088 (1980).