When a person pleads guilty to or is convicted of a sex offense in Denver County or anywhere in Colorado and is sentenced to probation, they are watched more closely than those convicted of non-sex crimes. This is called Sex Offender Intensive Supervised Probation (SOISP).
Under these guidelines, a person sentenced to SOISP will be required to meet with a probation officer frequently. The probation officer determines which types of treatment the offender will attend and has control over all aspects of the defendant's life. Supervision includes no contact with children, mandatory drug and alcohol testing, call-ins, home visits, and curfews. If all aspects of probation are not fulfilled, probation can be revoked, resulting in prison time.
The amount of time a person will be sentenced to SOISP can be indeterminate. Although this sounds strict, in many cases we are able to work out favorable plea deals which get our clients SOISP instead of an indeterminate prison sentence, which is a more favorable option.
Here are some of the terms and conditions that apply to the strict Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Probation (keep in mind that you may have additional restrictions or special permissions depending on your case and court orders):
What Contact is Allowed With Children While on Sex Offender Probation?
Unless a court order allows it, if you are on sex offender probation you will not be allowed ANY contact with children under 18. This can include even your own children for a period of time. ‘Contact' does not just mean in-person contact. It includes phone calls, text messages, emails, letters, and even asking another person to communicate to them for you.
If you live in a building with minors, you will have to find another, court approved, place to live. If your job involves contact with those under 18, you will have to get special permission to stay employed at that job, or you will have to find another job. You will have to be careful not to go near locations that are predominantly used by children, such as schools, parks, and playgrounds. If you have accidental contact or interaction with a child, you are required to immediately remove yourself from the situation and you MUST contact your probation officer to report the contact.
Can You Drink Alcohol While On Probation?
No. You are not allowed to purchase, possess, or consume any alcoholic beverages. You are also not allowed to purchase, possess, or use any mind or conscious altering substances. Even if your offense had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol, you will still have to submit to drug and alcohol testing, and pay for the tests yourself.
Sex Offender Registration in Adams County
You must register as a sex offender in Adams County and throughout Colorado, “with the local law enforcement agency within 5 business days after being given notice to register. If you move, you must reregister within 5 business days following your move. You must also fill out an address change form with the law enforcement office you last registered with. Regardless of whether or not you move, you must register annually on your birth date” (Colorado Judicial Department). More serious sex offenses may require that you register quarterly.
No Hitchhiking in Douglas County
Hitchhiking is not very common, but it is still listed as one of the terms and conditions of sex offender probation. You are not allowed to hitchhike, or pick up hitchhikers in Douglas County, or anywhere in Colorado.
Curfew
You will have to abide by a curfew determined for you by your probation officer. You will also only be allowed to shop at approved stores and eat at approved restaurants in order to lower the chance of you having contact with children under 18.
Participation in Treatment Programs and Sex Offender Evaluation
You will be required to participate in sex offender evaluation and treatment programs and you are required to finance them yourself if on probation. In some cases of parole, those costs are covered.
Release of Information in Jefferson County
You are required to sign releases of information so that all of your treatment providers, probation officers, and any professionals involved in your treatment/probation (even the victim's therapist) are able to share information with one another. The word privacy does not exist for you during sex offender probation in Jefferson County.
Psychological & Physiological Assessments & Polygraph Test
If you are instructed by your probation officer or treatment provider to take any programs of psychological or physiological assessment and monitoring, you must do so and pay for it out of pocket. Sometimes the treatment providers will take advantage of this condition of your probation. Polygraph testing is also a requirement of SOSIP in Colorado that can dictate a great deal of your freedoms based on performance on those tests.
18-1.3-208. Intensive supervision probation programs – legislative declaration
(1) The general assembly finds and declares that intensive supervision probation programs are an effective and desirable alternative to sentences to imprisonment, community corrections, or jail. It is the purpose of this section to encourage the judicial department to establish programs for the intensive supervision of selected probationers. It is the intent of the general assembly that such programs be formulated so that they protect the safety and welfare of the public in the community where the programs are operating and throughout the state of Colorado.
(2) The judicial department may establish an intensive supervision probation program in any judicial district or combination of judicial districts in order to provide supervision tailored to the specific characteristics that produce a risk classification requiring intensive services for the offender and to facilitate the offender's participation in rehabilitative programs intended to address those characteristics. When establishing such programs, the judicial department shall seek the counsel of the chief judge of the district court, the office of the district attorney, the state public defender or his or her designee, the county sheriff, the chief probation officer in the judicial district, the department of corrections, the local community corrections board, and members of the public at-large.
(3) The judicial department shall require that offenders in the program receive the highest level of supervision that is provided to probationers.
(4) When the court sentences any offender to probation, the probation department shall complete an initial assessment of the offender's risk and needs, using valid assessment tools approved by the state court administrator's office. Offenders who are determined through assessment to be high risk and who meet the acceptance criteria may be placed in an intensive supervision probation program by probation. Furthermore, intensive supervision probation may be used for an offender who has been under the supervision of probation for a period of time and a reassessment indicates the offender's risk of reoffense has increased to high and the offender meets the acceptance criteria of the intensive program. For purposes of this section, “offender” shall have the same meaning as that set forth in section 17-27-102 (6), C.R.S.
(5) The judicial department shall have the power to establish and enforce standards and criteria for the administration of intensive supervision probation programs.
(6) (a) It is the intent of the general assembly in enacting this subsection (6) to recognize that high-risk offenders can be managed in the community with the appropriate supervision and the use of evidence-based treatment programs and practices.
(b) The judicial department is directed to create and implement intensive supervision probation programs based on the current evidence for reducing recipism by October 1, 2013. Intensive supervision probation programs must require the use of validated assessments to determine the offender's risk of reoffending. The judicial department shall develop acceptance criteria for placement in all intensive supervision probation programs. The judicial department shall develop criteria for offenders to transition from intensive supervision probation programs to regular probation, based on assessment of risk and need and program compliance. An offender may not be placed in or transferred out of an intensive supervision probation program without meeting established criteria.
Jefferson County Lawyer for Sex Offenses & Probation Complaints
Intensive supervision probation programs have a higher level of supervision than any other probationers. Many of their rules are strict and unnecessary. The government's treatment of sex offenders is “one-size-fits-all" and is not thought to “cure” but merely to “treat” sex offenders.
If you have been charged with a sex offense, or are on probation and are dealing with probation complaints, do not hesitate to contact our experienced criminal defense attorneys today at 303-830-0880.