As soon as next month, Boulder County will begin housing people sentenced to community corrections or ordered to work-release programs in its newly built alternative sentencing facility, according to county officials. The opening of the center marks a long-sought shift in the county’s approach to incarceration.
The 252-bed Joe Pelle Center is expected to help reduce crowding in the county jail by offering programs that support reentry and stable employment outside of jail. It will also allow the county to stop contracting with private halfway houses.
The minimum-security residential facility is designed to be more humane than a jail or prison for people transitioning back into the community or sentenced to programs that allow them to work. County officials said the facility will provide treatment and education as residents prepare to return to the community, with a goal of reducing their odds of ending up back in jail…