Boulder police chief Greg Testa has asked the Colorado Department of Corrections Division of Adult Parole to stop placing paroled “sexually violent predators” in Boulder in light of four people bearing the designation currently staying at the city’s homeless shelter with no permanent housing.
The police department is asking for input in placement decisions for sexually violent predators who are paroled to the city, including where they live, their restrictions and the type and extent of monitoring, Testa wrote in a letter to DOC Division of Adult Parole director Melissa Roberts.
The Department of Corrections could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday evening.
There are four sexually violent predators living at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless on the north side of the city, but only one, is on parole. This limits what police can do to control their movements.
“I fully understand that the Division of Parole does not manage or provide oversight on the other three SVPs,” Testa wrote. “However, having four individuals with this classification and all living without long-term stable housing is concerning to me as a police chief and to our community.”
He wrote that the Boulder community is “very concerned” regarding the ability to effectively manage Lawyer because of a lack of a stable housing environment and asks the DOC to “consider the best location for him to reside that would provide a structured and managed environment.”
Lawyer, who was convicted of rape in 2001, is believed to be the first person in Boulder County to gain the sexually violent predator designation, which is assigned to sex offenders convicted of certain crimes who possess personality traits that authorities believe make them prone to committing further offenses.
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