This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office is the proud recipient of two awards.
The Fresh Start Program has been awarded this years “Commissioners’ Choice” Pinnacle Award. The Boulder County Pinnacle Award program recognizes employee work teams for projects and programs that exemplify the County’s guiding values to provide excellent public service. The Fresh Start program is an innovative program which we believe is the first of its type and design in Colorado designed to give defendants who have active warrants on lower level, non-violent offenses, an opportunity to come in and either resolve their case, or get it back on track, without the detrimental impact of an arrest. The goal of the program is to alleviate the stresses and barriers that warrants create for defendants, as well as the risks that contacting individuals with warrants have for law enforcement officers and ensure the fair and efficient administration of Justice.
The program opens the Boulder Justice Center or the Longmont Courthouse on designated Saturdays twice per year; the courthouses are fully staffed with Judges, court staff, defense attorneys, immigration attorneys, interpreters, prosecutors and security personnel.
The Boulder event includes collaboration with the Boulder Municipal Court as well. As a result of the program (which was inaugurated in April 2019, with a second event in November of 2019) has resulted in the clearing of approximately 60 warrants, saving the County costs associated with the arrest and incarceration of those individuals and preventing the unnecessary arrest and detention of individuals whose cases can fairly and appropriately be addressed in a non-custodial setting this benefits the defendant, their families, their victims, and the community as a whole.
The Community Protection Unit (CPU) has been awarded a 2020 Volunteer Enrichment Award for National Volunteer Week. The volunteer award recipients included our very own volunteers. Community Protection volunteers provide information and resources to the public related to telephone and online fraud, and financial abuse and exploitation. The awarded Smart Voice Simultaneous Translator will enable CPD volunteers to serve non-English speaking community members in real time using this two-way translation device. The device translates Spanish and seven other languages, has a camera that translates printed text, and can be used on the phone or in-person.
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