DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday unveiled a $113 million public safety package designed to take Colorado from the middle of the pack to one of the top states in the nation for public safety.
Ahead of the package's rollout at a Thursday state Capitol news conference, Polis in a Wednesday interview told Colorado Politics his legislative solution is a two-year proposal, which he aims to have funded with one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars. He’s hoping that should some or all of those programs prove successful, there will be an interest in longer-term funding, with an eye on a a five-year goal to move Colorado into the list of top 10 safest states.
“We know that evidence-based decisions on grants are very helpful in addressing public safety issues,” Polis said.
The package includes several items already in front of lawmakers. Those include a request from Polis to add 107 full-time employees to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation as part of his 2022-23 submission to the Joint Budget Committee, and Senate Bill 1, a measure sponsored by Sen. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora and Rep. Kerry Tipper, D-Lakewood, on addressing crime prevention through “safer street” design changes.
Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, said Wednesday that the intent is not to try to replicate mass incarceration activities. Instead the state is “trying to get ahead of things with prevention and treatment, and dealing with some of the social issues that cause people to become justice-involved.”
>Read the full article at Colorado Politics.
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