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Item 1B - Municipal Court Quarterly Update PresentationQuarterly Update March 1, 2022BOULDER MUNICIPAL COURT Boulder Municipal Court Trial Courts in Colorado District Court (Boulder has 9 district courts) Felony criminal cases Most civil cases County Court (Boulder has 5 county courts) Misdemeanor & petty offense criminal cases Traffic cases Low level civil cases Municipal Courts (7 total in Boulder County) Criminal & non- criminal code violations Traffic cases Quasi-judicial hearings Traditional Role of Municipal Courts Provide a geographically convenient forum for cases that could be filed in county court •Traffic cases are the universal example Adjudicate violations of local laws, some of which have no state counterparts •“Junk” ordinances as an example; examples from Boulder include Nuisance Party, Camping Quasi-judicial hearings •Liquor licensing and alleged license violations are a common example of this function; in Boulder, they include appeals from Bear Trash Penalties, Rental License Penalties, and Marijuana License Penalties Role of Boulder Municipal Court All traditional municipal court functions Adjudicates cases involving violations of laws uniquely crafted to address the “quality of life” in the local community Reflects community values Emphasizes problem-solving Process (procedural fairness) is valued as highly as outcomes –Court Voices Project Hallmarks are innovation, collaboration, evidence-based approaches Boulder Municipal Court Cases Filings by types of cases 2016 2021 Parking tickets ~90,000 ~136,000 Traffic citations, including photo radar and red light ~42,500 ~54,800 General offenses, primarily classified as criminal ~5,000 ~3,000 Animal offenses ~1,100 ~1,000 Civil code enforcement 197 51 Quasi-judicial hearings 99 49 Citing agencies Average % Parking Services excluded Boulder Police Department 77% CU Police Department 10% Animal Protection (BPD)7% OSMP Rangers 4% Code Enforcement (BPD)2% Community Court Design & Outcomes GRANT AWARD National Community Courts Implementation Grant Awarded by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs $400,000 over 2 years, beginning 10/1/2020 Target Population: Homeless Offenders •~ $150,000 for Transitional Housing •~ $130,000 for Mental Health Services •~ $106,000 for Substance Use Treatment Highlights of Award: Community Court Goals •Use court cases to address underlying causes of homelessness instead of cycling people between the streets and jailLeverage •Collaborate with a variety of agencies and service providers to give access to needed services, preferably in a central locationCollaborate •Give people with lived experience a voice in designing the program, resolving individual casesVoice Types of Cases Camping/Tents/Trespass Possession/Consumption of Alcohol/Marijuana in Public Smoking Where Prohibited Other cases include: Littering Urinating in Public Community Court Video https://vimeo.com/566290678 Strategies for Community Court Participants Community Court Model Largely a mobile pop-up court; seeking permanent location Use Citation as Opportunity for Engagement •Participants often earn dismissal of charge(s) Sample Sanctions (aimed at resolving unhoused status) •Obtain birth certificate, ID, SS card •Complete Coordinated Entry, VISPDAT, Housing Match form •Benefits applications (SNAP, Medicaid, SSDI) •Make and keep needed appointments, court dates •No Trespass Orders Community Court Accomplishments 1/21/21:Began mobile or “pop-up” court sessions 2x per month at Deacon’s Closet at Grace Commons Church (heavily attended by people experiencing homelessness) 2/2021:First use of transitional housing for Community Court clients 5/2021:Began filming Community Court Videos 6/2021:Began small case management forums w. providers 7/2021:Substance use treatment provider began onboarding Community Court Accomplishments 8/2021:First meeting of Homeless Advisory Council (lived experience) 8/2021: Substance use provider began delivering services 10/2021:Began “pop-up” court sessions 2x per month at Feet Forward Community Outreach sessions at Central Park; increased from 2 to 4 sessions per month 2/2022:Identified mental health treatment provider 2/2022:Site visit to Austin Community Court (3 staff + HOT) COVID IMPACTS Started as mobile court instead of in an indoor location But mobile court reaches people where they are Service providers less available, mostly virtual But many things became easier to access electronically E.g., Medical Records, SSCs, IDs Difficult to stand up new services, expend funds But likely to receive one-year extension until 9/2023 Community Court Data 10/1/20-12/31/21 METRIC Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 TOTAL # people screened 14 45 31 40 39 169 # people enrolled 11 37 31 38 39 156 # court cases for people enrolled 57 125 86 106 96 470 # sanctions/tasks assigned 30 100 71 98 101 400 # sanctions/tasks completed 22 86 67 91 97 363 # people not completing any sanctions/tasks 1 3 1 0 0 5 # cases dismissed/pending dismissal/CCT sentence 48 94 50 72 112 376 Community Court: Remaining Challenges Data Collection Court records management system ill-suited to capturing human services data needed for case management of participants Grant limitations Grantor precludes providing grant-funded services to participants with certain types of criminal charges in their past Physical Site Lack of indoor physical site for Community Court where people experiencing homelessness connect with service providers in central location (no court case needed) Coordination Lack of large forum for coordinating case management (typically occurs at indoor Community Court sessions) Individual Stories Ann and Carl Chris Martha Questions?