2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 17 - CORRECTIONS (§§ 17-1-101 — 17-42-105) › DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (§§ 17-1-101 — 17-10-106) › PAROLE AND PROBATION (§§ 17-2-100.2 — 17-2-401) › Article 2 - CORRECTIONAL SERVICES (§§ 17-2-100.2 — 17-2-401) › Part 1 - DIVISION OF ADULT PAROLE (§§ 17-2-100.2 — 17-2-106) › Section 17-2-103 - Arrest of parolee - revocation proceedings

(1)
The director of the division of adult parole or any community parole officer may arrest any parolee when:
(a)
He or she has a warrant commanding that such parolee be arrested; or
(b)
He or she has probable cause to believe that a warrant for the parolee's arrest has been issued in this state or another state for any criminal offense or for violation of a condition of parole; or
(c)
Any offense under the laws of this state has been or is being committed by the parolee in the community parole officer's presence; or
(d)
He or she has probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the parolee has committed such crime; or
(e)
He or she has probable cause to believe that the parolee is leaving or about to leave the state; or
(f)
He or she has probable cause to believe that the parolee has violated one or more conditions of parole and that the parolee will fail or refuse to appear before the board to answer charges of violations of one or more conditions of parole; or
(g)
He or she has a reasonable belief that the arrest is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the parolee or any other person or to prevent the commission of a crime; or
(h)
He or she has probable cause to believe that the parolee has committed a technical violation of parole for which the underlying behavior is not a criminal offense and the community parole officer has exhausted all appropriate or available intermediate sanctions, treatment, and support services.
(1.5)
(a)
Except where arrest or revocation is mandatory pursuant to this section or section
17-2-103.5
, and except as provided in paragraph (g) of this subsection (1.5), a community parole officer must consider all appropriate or available intermediate sanctions, as determined by the policies of the division of adult parole, before he or she files a complaint for revocation of a parolee for a technical violation of a condition of parole for which the underlying behavior is not a criminal offense.
(b)
A community parole officer shall utilize intermediate sanctions to address a parolee's noncompliance or seek modification of parole conditions, or do both, as deemed appropriate by the community parole officer, in a manner that is consistent with the severity of the noncompliance and the risk level of the parolee.
(c)
A community parole officer shall also make referrals to any needed treatment or other support services that may help a parolee become compliant with the conditions of parole and succeed in reintegrating into society. For the purposes of this section, testing positive for the use of illegal drugs is considered a technical violation of parole.
(d)
If a parolee has a technical violation, the parolee's community parole officer, with the approval of the director of the division of adult parole or the director's designee, may impose a brief term of confinement, not to exceed fourteen consecutive days, as an intermediate sanction.
(e)
A parolee's community parole officer must notify the parolee when a brief term of confinement may be imposed as an intermediate sanction against the parolee.
(f)
Confinement as an intermediate sanction may be provided in any facility operated or approved by the department of corrections or in a county jail. The division of adult parole is responsible for reimbursing county jails for beds used as an intermediate sanction. The sheriff of each county has the authority and discretion to determine the number of jail beds, if any, that are available to the department of corrections in their respective facilities for the purpose of imposing an intermediate sanction. If jail beds are unavailable in the local community of the facility in which the parolee is being supervised, the division of adult parole is authorized to utilize any facility operated or approved by the department of corrections or other available county jail beds if transportation to and from the jail is provided to the parolee.
(g)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a community parole officer may bypass the use of intermediate sanctions or any additional intermediate sanctions in response to a technical violation of parole and file a complaint seeking revocation of parole if:
(I)
The parolee has received up to four intermediate sanctions committing the parolee to a brief term of incarceration in jail, except for a parolee for whom subsection (11)(b)(III) of this section applies; or
(II)
The nature of the technical violation, in combination with the parolee's risk assessment, indicates a heightened risk to public safety, as defined by policy of the division of adult parole.
(2)
(a)
A board hearing relating to the revocation of parole shall be held, at the discretion of the board, in the courthouse or other facility that is acceptable to the board in the county in which the alleged violation occurred, the county of the parolee's confinement, or the county of the parolee's residence if not confined.
(b)
In all hearings relating to revocation of parole, one member of the board shall hear the case to a conclusion, unless the chairperson of the board assigns another board member due to the illness or unavailability of the first board member. The parolee may appeal to two members of the board. Such appeal shall be on the record.
(c)
At evidentiary hearings concerning revocation of parole, the district attorney of the county in which the hearing is held may be in attendance to present the case.
(d)
At all hearings before the board which are held outside of the institution to which the parolee is sentenced, it is the duty of the county sheriff to provide for the safety of all persons present. All counties shall make sufficient room available to conduct parole revocation proceedings in their respective courthouses or other facilities that are acceptable to the board.
(e)
All votes of the board at any hearing or appeal held pursuant to this section shall be recorded by member and shall be a public record open to inspection and shall be subject to the provisions of part 3 of article
72
of title
24
, C.R.S.
(3)
(a)
Whenever a community parole officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a condition of parole has been violated by any parolee, he or she may issue a summons requiring the parolee to appear before the board at a specified time and place to answer charges of violation of one or more conditions of parole. The summons shall be accompanied by a copy of the complaint filed before the board seeking revocation of parole. Willful failure of the parolee to appear before the board as required by the summons is a violation of a condition of parole.
(b)
A community parole officer may request that the board issue a warrant for the arrest of a parolee for violation of the conditions of his or her parole by filing a complaint with the board showing probable cause to believe that the parolee has violated a condition of his or her parole. The warrant may be executed by a peace officer, as described in section
16-2.5-101
, C.R.S.
(4)
(a)
If, rather than issuing a summons, a community parole officer makes an arrest of a parolee, with or without a warrant, or the parolee is otherwise arrested, the parolee shall be held in a county jail or a preparole facility or program pending action by the community parole officer pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.
(b)
Repealed.
(5)
Not later than ten working days after the arrest of any parolee, as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the community parole officer shall complete his or her investigation and either:
(a)
File a complaint before the board in which the facts are alleged upon which a revocation of parole is sought; or
(b)
Order the release of the parolee and request that any warrant be quashed and that any complaint be dismissed, and parole shall be restored; or
(c)
Order the release of the parolee and issue a summons requiring the parolee to appear before the board at a specified time and place to answer charges of violation of one or more conditions of parole.
(6)
(a)
Any complaint filed by the community parole officer in which revocation of parole is sought shall contain the name of the parolee and his or her department of corrections number, identify the nature of the charges that are alleged to justify revocation of his or her parole, the substance of the evidence sustaining the charges, and the condition of parole alleged to have been violated, including the date and approximate location thereof, together with the signature of the community parole officer. A copy thereof shall be given to the parolee a reasonable length of time before any parole board hearing.
(b)
At any time after the filing of a complaint, the director of the division of adult parole may cause the revocation proceedings to be dismissed by giving written notification of the decision for the dismissal to the board, the community parole officer, and the parolee. Upon receipt of the notification by the director, the community parole officer shall order the release of the parolee pursuant to subsection (5) of this section, and parole shall be restored.
(c)
The filing of a complaint by the community parole officer tolls the expiration of the parolee's parole.
(7)
If the parolee is in custody pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, or the parolee was arrested and then released pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of this section, the hearing on revocation shall be held within a reasonable time, not to exceed thirty days after the parolee was arrested; except that the board may grant a delay when it finds good cause to exist therefor. If the parolee was issued a summons, the final hearing shall be held within thirty working days from the date the summons was issued; except that the board may grant a delay when it finds good cause to exist therefor. The board shall notify the sheriff, the community parole officer, and the parolee of the date, time, and place of the hearing. It shall be the responsibility of the sheriff to assure the presence of the parolee being held in custody at the time and place of the hearing and to provide for the safety of all present.
(8)
Prior to appearance before the board, a parolee shall be advised in writing by the director of the division of adult parole concerning the nature of the charges that are alleged to justify revocation of parole and the substance of the evidence sustaining the charges; the parolee shall be given a copy of the complaint unless he or she has already received one; the parolee shall be informed of the consequences which may follow in the event parole is revoked; the parolee shall then be advised that a full and final hearing will be held before the board at which hearing the parolee will be required to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges contained in the complaint; and the parolee shall be further advised that at the hearing before the board he or she may be represented by an attorney and that he or she may testify and present witnesses and documentary evidence in defense of the charges or in mitigation or explanation thereof. The hearing may be continued by the board upon a showing of good cause.
(9)
(a)
In the event of a plea of not guilty, the division of adult parole, at the final hearing before the board, shall have the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence the violation of a condition of parole; except that the commission of a criminal offense must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, unless the parolee has been convicted thereof in a criminal proceeding. When it appears that the alleged violation of a condition or conditions of parole consists of an offense with which the parolee is charged in a criminal case then pending, testimony given before the board in a parole revocation proceeding shall not be admissible in such criminal proceeding before a court. When, in a parole revocation hearing, the alleged violation of a condition of parole is the parolee's failure to pay court-ordered compensation to appointed counsel, probation fees, court costs, restitution, or reparations, evidence of the failure to pay shall constitute prima facie evidence of a violation. The board may revoke the parole if requested to do so by the parolee. Any evidence having probative value shall be admissible in all proceedings related to a parole violation complaint, regardless of its admissibility under the exclusionary rules of evidence, if the parolee is accorded a fair opportunity to rebut hearsay evidence. The parolee shall have the right to confront and to cross-examine adverse witnesses unless the board specifically finds good cause for not allowing confrontation of an informer.
(b)
If the parolee has been convicted of a criminal offense while on parole, the board shall accept said conviction as conclusive proof of a violation and shall conduct a hearing as to the disposition of the parole only.
(10)
Repealed.
(11)
(a)
If the board determines that a violation of a condition or conditions of parole has been committed, the board shall, within five working days after the completion of the final hearing, either revoke the parole, as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (11), or continue it in effect, or modify the conditions of parole if circumstances then shown to exist require such modifications. If parole is revoked, the board shall serve upon the parolee a written statement as to the evidence relied on and the reasons for revoking parole.
(b)
(I)
If the board determines that the parolee has violated parole through commission of a felony or misdemeanor crime, the board may revoke parole and request the sheriff of the county in which the hearing is held to transport the parolee to a place of confinement designated by the executive director for up to the remainder of the parole period.
(II)
If the board determines that the parolee has violated any condition of parole that does not involve the commission of a felony or misdemeanor crime that involves possession of a deadly weapon as defined in section
18-1-901
, refusing or failing to comply with requirements of sex offender treatment, absconding, willful failure to appear for a summons, unlawful contact with a victim, or the willful tampering or removal of an electronic monitoring device that the parolee is required to wear as a condition of his or her parole, the board may revoke parole and request the sheriff of the county in which the hearing is held to transport the parolee to a place of confinement for up to the remainder of the parole period and order the parolee confined at a facility designated by the executive director.
(II.5)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 2017.)
(III)
If the board determines that the parolee has violated any condition of parole that does not involve the commission of a felony or misdemeanor crime, the parolee has no active felony warrant, felony detainer, or pending felony criminal charge, and the parolee was on parole for an offense that was a level 3 or level 4 drug felony or class 3, class 4, class 5, or class 6 nonviolent felony offense as defined in section
17-22.5-405 (5)(b)
, except for menacing as defined in section
18-3-206
; stalking as described in section
18-9-111 (4)
, as it existed prior to August 11, 2010, or section
18-3-602
; or any unlawful sexual behavior contained in section
16-22-102 (9)
; or any other offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves unlawful sexual behavior; or unless the parolee was subject to article
6.5
of title
18
, or section
18-6-801
, the board may order, as a condition of parole, participation in treatment, if appropriate, as described in section
17-2-103 (11)(c)
.
(III.5)
Repealed.
(IV) and (V)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 2017.)
(VI)
If the board determines that a parolee who has been designated as a sexually violent predator pursuant to section
18-3-414.5
or found to be a sexually violent predator or its equivalent in any other state or jurisdiction, including but not limited to a military or federal jurisdiction, has violated any condition of parole, the board may revoke parole and request the sheriff of the county in which the hearing is held to transport the parolee for up to the remainder of the parole period and order the parolee confined at a place of confinement designated by the executive director.
(c)
If the board determines that the parolee is in need of treatment, the board shall consider placing the parolee in one of the following treatment options and, if appropriate, may modify the conditions of parole to include:
(I)
Participation in an outpatient program for the treatment of substance abuse or substance use disorders, mental health disorders, or other co-occurring or behavioral health disorders; or
(II)
(A)
Placement in a residential treatment program for the treatment of substance abuse, substance use disorders, mental health disorders, or other co-occurring or behavioral health disorders, which program is under contract with the department of public safety and may include, but need not be limited to, intensive residential treatment, therapeutic community, and mental health programs.
(B)
A parolee may be placed in a residential treatment program under contract with the department of public safety only upon acceptance by the residential treatment program and any community corrections board with jurisdiction over the residential treatment program. Residential treatment programs and community corrections boards are encouraged to develop an expedited review process to facilitate decision-making and placement of the parolee, if accepted.
(C)
Placement in a parolee intensive treatment program operated by the department in a level I security facility for men or an equivalent security level unit in a women's facility operated by the department. The department shall provide or contract for medical services needed by parolees in the intensive treatment program and may use funding appropriated for clinical services for those medical services.
(d)
If the parole board orders the parolee to participate in a treatment program as a condition of parole pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (11), the level of treatment ordered shall be consistent with the treatment level need of the parolee based upon an assessment instrument approved for use by the unit within the department of human services that administers behavioral health programs and services, including those related to mental health and substance abuse.
(e)
If the parolee is unsuccessful in participating in a treatment program ordered pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (11) and his or her participation is terminated, the board may consider placement of the parolee in additional treatment, as appropriate, including a higher level of treatment.
(f)
(I)
A parolee who violates the conditions of his or her parole by removing or tampering with an electronic monitoring device that the parolee is required to wear as a condition of his or her parole is subject to an immediate warrantless arrest.
(II)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if the board determines that a parolee has violated the conditions of his or her parole by removing or tampering with an electronic monitoring device that the parolee is required to wear as a condition of his or her parole, the board may revoke the parolee's parole pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (11).
(11.5)
Each fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate a portion of the savings generated by House Bill 10-1360, enacted in 2010. This appropriation shall be used only for re-entry support services for parolees related to obtaining employment, housing, transportation, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, mental health medication, or offender-specific services. The appropriation shall be made after consideration of the division of adult parole's status report required pursuant to section
17-2-102 (11)
.
(12)
If the community parole officer is informed by any law enforcement agency that a parolee has been arrested for a criminal offense and is being detained in the county jail, the community parole officer shall file a complaint alleging the criminal offense as a violation of parole. The community parole officer shall advise the board of any pending criminal proceeding and shall request that a parole revocation proceeding be deferred pending a disposition of the criminal charge.
(13)
(a)
The board may revoke the parole if requested to do so by the parolee. If a parolee requests to have his or her parole revoked, the parolee shall provide the board a justifiable reason for requesting revocation of parole.
(b)
Prior to revoking parole upon the request of a parolee, the board may recommend or implement appropriate interventions in order to assist in the parolee with reintegration and prevent a return to incarceration.
(c)
If the board revokes the parole upon the request of the parolee, the board shall proceed pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (11) of this section.
(14)
If the board revokes parole and places the parolee in custody, completion of the term of custody shall not constitute discharge of the parolee's remaining period of parole unless the term of custody is equal to the parolee's remaining period of parole.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 69, § 8, eff. 4/7/2022.
Amended by 2020 Ch. 9, § 5, eff. 3/6/2020.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 286, § 2, eff. 5/28/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 35, § 16, eff. 8/8/2018.
Amended by 2017 Ch. 394, § 2, eff. 8/9/2017.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 251, § 2, eff. 5/29/2015.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 37, § 3, eff. 3/20/2015.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 199, § 2, eff. 5/15/2014.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 333, § 46, eff. 10/1/2013.
L. 77: Entire title R&RE, p. 908, § 10, effective August 1. L. 78: (11) amended, p. 356, § 2, effective April 27. L. 79: (2)(a), (2)(d), (4), (5)(a), (6)(b), and (9)(a) amended, p. 686, § 26, effective July 1. L. 83: (9)(a) amended, p. 665, § 6, effective July 1. L. 85: (1)(e), (2)(a), (2)(b), (2)(d), (3), (4)(a), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (11) amended and (2)(c), (4)(b), and (10) repealed, pp. 633, 641, §§ 1, 11, effective July 1; (2)(e) added, p. 643, § 1, effective July 1. L. 87: (2)(a), (2)(b), (2)(d), (6)(b), (7) to (9), and (11) amended, p. 952, § 55, effective March 13; (2)(b) amended, (2)(c) RC&RE, and (6)(c) added, p. 651, §§ 3, 4, 5, effective July 1. L. 89: (12) added, p. 863, § 5, effective April 12; (1)(f) added, p. 877, § 14, effective June 5. L. 90: (4)(a) amended, p. 944, § 15, effective June 7. L. 94: (2)(a), (2)(b), (2)(d), (6)(b), (7), (8), (9), and (11) amended, pp. 2600, 2594, §§ 13, 1, effective June 3. L. 95: (11)(b)(II)(B) amended, p. 1097, § 16, effective May 31. L. 2000: IP(1), (6)(b), (8), and (9)(a) amended, p. 840, § 25, effective May 24. L. 2001: (11)(b)(II)(C) amended and (11)(b)(II)(D) added, p. 502, § 2, effective May 16. L. 2002: (11)(b)(II)(B) amended, p. 1499, § 158, effective October 1. L. 2003: (9)(a) and (11)(b) amended and (13) and (14) added, p. 2674, § 1, effective July 1; (3)(b) amended, p. 1614, § 9, effective August 6. L. 2008: IP(1), (3), (4)(a), IP(5), (6), (7), and (12) amended, p. 655, § 4, effective April 25; (11)(b)(III) amended, p. 1035, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2010: IP(11)(b)(II) amended and (11)(b)(VI) added, (HB 10 -1089), ch. 204, p. 204, § 1, effective March 31; IP(11)(b)(II), (11)(b)(IV), and (11)(b)(V) amended and (11)(b)(III.5), (11)(c), (11)(d), (11)(e), and (11.5) added, (HB 10-1360), ch. 263, pp. 1193, 1194, 1196, &sect§ 2, 4, 5, effective May 25; IP(11)(b)(II) amended and (11)(b)(III.5) added, (HB 10-1360), ch. 263, p. 1194, § 3, effective August 11. L. 2011: (11)(d) amended, (HB 11-1303), ch. 1156, p. 1156, § 28, effective August 10. L. 2013: (11)(b)(III) and (11)(b)(III.5) amended, (SB 13-250), ch. 1931, p. 1931, § 46, effective October 1. L. 2014: (11)(f) added, (HB 14-1044), ch. 727, p. 727, § 2, effective April 15. L. 2015: IP(11)(b)(II) amended, (HB 15 -1122), ch. 89, p. 89, § 3, effective March 20; (1) amended and (1.5) added, (SB 15-124), ch. 915, p. 915, § 2, effective May 29. L. 2017: (11)(b) amended, (HB 17-1326), ch. 2027, p. 2027, § 2, effective August 9. L. 2018: (11)(c)(I) and (11)(c)(II)(A) amended, (SB 18 -091), ch. 385, p. 385, § 16, effective August 8. L. 2019: (1.5)(d), (1.5)(g)(I), (11)(b)(I), (11)(b)(II), (11)(b)(III), and (11)(c)(II)(B) amended, (11)(b)(III.5) repealed, and (11)(c)(II)(C) added, (SB 19-143), ch. 2656, p. 2656, § 2, effective May 28. L. 2020: IP(11)(c) amended, (HB 20 -1019), ch. 25, p. 25, § 5, effective March 6.
(1) This section is similar to former § 17-1-103 as it existed prior to 1977.
(2) Amendments to subsection (11) in sections 1 and 13 of Senate Bill 94-172 were harmonized.
(3) Amendments to IP(11)(b)(II) by House Bill 10-1089 and House Bill 10-1360 were harmonized.
(1) For other provisions concerning parole revocation proceedings, see § 17-2-201 . (2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsection (11)(b)(II)(B), see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002. For the legislative declaration in HB 15-1122, see section 1 of chapter 37, Session Laws of Colorado 2015. For the legislative declaration in SB 15-124, see section 1 of chapter 251, Session Laws of Colorado 2015. For the legislative declaration in HB 17-1326, see section 1 of chapter 394, Session Laws of Colorado 2017. For the legislative declaration in SB 18-091, see section 1 of chapter 35, Session Laws of Colorado 2018.