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From Arvada Police Dept:
Stay Informed,
Colorado Senate Bill SB21-062 prohibits police officers from jailing a suspect after arrest for crimes other than Class 1, 2, and 3 felonies, subject to certain limited exceptions. The exceptions include cases where the arrest is mandated by statutes, such as domestic violence, defined crimes of violence, and crimes enumerated in the Victim Rights Act.
Under this legislation, police officers typically could not arrest and jail a person for a Class 4, 5, or 6 felonies, a class 3 or 4 drug felony, a misdemeanor, or a municipal code violation. By way of example, this would preclude officers from jailing suspects after an arrest for crimes such as 2nd-degree burglary of a business (Class 4 Felony), 1st-degree criminal trespass (i.e. breaking into a vehicle - a Class 5 Felony), and most motor vehicle thefts where the value of the vehicle is less than $100,000.00 (a Class 4 Felony).
The proposed law would also require judges to release defendants on a personal recognizance (“PR”) bond (i.e. releasing the person with only their signature as their promise to appear), unless the judge makes a specific finding that the person will flee prosecution or is a threat to another person, and no condition of release can mitigate such risk of flight or danger. It also mandates that in cases where the defendant is brought before a court for failure to appear, the defendant must be released on a PR bond again, unless they have failed to appear three or more times in the case.
In short, all but the most serious and violent offenders either would not be jailed or would be released from custody until their court date on a PR bond.
Jail capacity restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have provided a preview of the effect of this bill on public safety. Arvada has experienced increases in crime and repeat offenders since the Jefferson County Sheriff imposed capacity restrictions which resulted in the release of offenders back into the community. APD officers have arrested many suspects with multiple arrest warrants for serious repeated crimes who should have otherwise been incarcerated awaiting trial proceedings.
As one example of the impact that restrictions on jailable charges can have on the community, in one Arvada case, a defendant openly announced to officers that he would commit additional crimes because he was aware he would not be incarcerated, and he would not/could not be prevented from doing so. That defendant went on to commit 24 thefts and related offenses at Arvada businesses before Jefferson County ultimately determined they would hold him in custody to await trial.
See the Bill here,
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-062