Colorado parole violations plunge 50% in 6 years as penalties lessen for drug, alcohol use
Parole violations in Colorado have dropped by more than 50% over the last six years, driven by sweeping declines in technical violations around drug and alcohol use. Parolees who test positive for drugs or alcohol or who skip mandatory drug tests are much less likely to be sent back to prison now than they were six years ago.
The decline is part of a years-long effort by lawmakers and reformers to keep parolees out of prison and redirect those who struggle with substance abuse into treatment when they relapse, instead of into custody. Advocates hail the shift as progress that helps parolees better reenter society by reducing punitive prison stays and increasing support for those coming out of prison.
But critics say the changes have hobbled parole officers’ ability to keep both parolees and the public safe, and that long waits for limited inpatient substance abuse treatment leave parolees stuck without help. Parole officers say they have little ability to hold parolees responsible, even when they commit new crimes.
“We just shake a finger at them, but that’s it,” said one parole officer who spoke to The Denver Post on the condition of anonymity to avoid professional retaliation.
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Parole officers do have punitive options for technical parole violations. Parolees can be still sent back to jail for up to 14 days under a policy once heralded as providing “sure and swift” consequences to parolees. That approach is less used now than it was several years ago, several people told The Post.
Jail stays are constrained by the number of beds available in local jails for such parole violators. In December, there were about 9,500 people on parole across the state, according to the Department of Corrections. Most were concentrated in Denver, Colorado Springs and Jefferson County, with just under 1,400 parolees supervised out of the Denver office in 2021, according to the Department of Corrections.
