Boulder County opens new alternative sentencing facility focused on rehabilitation

Next door to the Boulder County Jail is a brand-new alternative sentencing facility hoping to offer alternatives to incarceration that focus on rehabilitation. Named after the former Boulder County Sheriff, the Joe Pelle Center is an alternative sentencing facility that will replace private halfway houses in the county and hopes to lower the chances of criminals re-offending.

The more than 50,000 square-foot facility is able to house up to 252 offenders while serving others who may not be required to stay overnight.

Tim Hand is the facility administrator at the center, and his goal is to help low-risk criminals adjust back to normal life.

"It means a change, an investment into the future for the citizens of Boulder," Hand said, "We want it to be good. We want the food to be nutritious. We want the clients to feel important and cared for."

Some of the facilities' programs will include certification classes and provide resources for mental health and addiction services.

"It's going to be, certainly non-traditional, and it's going to be more about relational and just being, just being real with each other," Hand said. He explained that his focus on that non-traditional approach includes even smaller details like referring to people at the facility as clients and calling them by their first name instead of their last.

The new facility cost about $38 million and comes seven years after voters approved a sales tax to help pay for it.

Division Manager for Boulder County Community Justice Services Monica Rotner says she believes running the facility through the county may cost more than the current contracts with private halfway houses, but she believes it will be more successful for clients and the public.

"People are sentenced to us, and they have to be here, and that the taxpayers are paying an enormous amount of money for it, it's on us to make sure we do something with that time that really changes the trajectory of their life and therefore our public safety long term," Rotner said.

The center will also focus on preparing clients for re-entry by helping with job applications and technology use.

Rotner explained, "My thinking is that the services we're offering here in this facility will make Boulder County a safer place to be, because when people get out, they'll be ready to be out, and they'll be ready to be a productive part of society."

The center has already opened to non-residential clients and will be opening up to those on waitlists from the county jail next month.