Restitution to Victims of Crime

C.R.S. tit. 17, art. 28

in effect

C.R.S. § 17-28-101 Legislative declaration

17-28-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that: (a) The number of victims of crime increases daily; (b) These victims suffer undue hardship by virtue of physical, mental, and emotional injury or loss of property; (c) Persons found guilty of causing such suffering are under a moral and legal obligation to make adequate restitution and restoration to those injured by their conduct; (d) Restitution and restoration provided by criminal offenders to their victims may be instruments of rehabilitation for offenders and may contribute to the healing and improved emotional well-being of their victims. (2) The purpose of this article is to encourage the establishment of programs to provide for restitution to and restoration of victims of crime by offenders who are sentenced, or who have been released on parole, or who are being held in local correctional and detention facilities. It is the intent of the general assembly that restitution be utilized wherever feasible to restore losses to the victims of crime and to aid the offender in reintegration as a productive member of society. It is also the purpose of this article to promote establishment of victim-offender conferences in the institutions under the control of the department of corrections, using restorative justice practices as defined in section 18-1-901 (3)(o.5), C.R.S.

C.R.S. § 17-28-102 Establishment of restitution programs

17-28-102. Establishment of restitution programs. The department shall, as a means of assisting in the rehabilitation of persons committed to its care, including persons placed in community correctional facilities or programs, establish programs and procedures whereby such persons may contribute toward restitution of those persons injured as a consequence of their criminal acts.

C.R.S. § 17-28-103 Victim-offender conferences - pilot program

17-28-103. Victim-offender conferences - pilot program. The department is authorized to establish a pilot program, when funds become available, in its correctional facilities to facilitate victim-initiated victim-offender conferences whereby a victim of a crime may request a facilitated conference with the offender who committed the crime, if the offender is in the custody of the department. After such a pilot program is established, the department may establish policies and procedures for the victim-offender conferences using volunteers to facilitate the conferences. The volunteers shall complete the department's volunteer and facility-specific training programs and complete high-risk victim-offender training and victim advocacy training. The department shall not compensate or reimburse a volunteer or victim for any expenses nor otherwise incur any additional expenses to establish or operate the victim-offender conferences pilot program. If a pilot program is available, and subsequent to the victim's or the victim representative's request, the department shall arrange such a conference only after determining that the conference would be safe and only if the offender agrees to participate. The purposes of the conference shall be to enable the victim to meet the offender, to obtain answers to questions only the offender can answer, to assist the victim in healing from the impact of the crime, and to promote a sense of remorse and acceptance of responsibility by the offender that may contribute to his or her rehabilitation.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-17.docxFetched: 10/6/2026