The coronavirus outbreak is having a huge impact on communities throughout Colorado, and when it comes to the criminal justice system, no one – not crime victims, inmates, law enforcement, the judicial system or the public – is exempt. As members of the victim advocate, law enforcement and legal communities, we recognize the challenges law enforcement and the judicial system face as they weigh public safety and public health – both in jails and in our communities – while at the same time upholding justice.

We are working in an unprecedented time, and as this work continues to unfold, public safety and the voice of victims must not get lost. Local judges and law enforcement must have the flexibility to make decisions that consider the resources available in their local communities, as well as the threat to individual victims and community as a whole.

Much attention has been paid recently to the steps law enforcement and the judicial system are taking to reduce jail populations and to protect inmates and deputies and officers. When stay-at-home orders were issued, jails started carefully reducing their detained populations by anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent. These numbers vary, as they should. In these extraordinary times, releasing detainees deemed not to pose a risk to victims and the community not only helps protect those who are released, but also other inmates and law enforcement officers. However, these reductions cannot come at a cost to victims and public safety, and they must consider the local resources available to monitor and support detainees released back into the communities. Colorado’s large communities are better equipped than their smaller counterparts to monitor and support detainees’ early release, and asking everyone to deploy the same approach is not just unachievable, it’s dangerous.

Some detainees cannot be released, and for the population that remains, jails are constantly screening and monitoring, as well as trying to isolate people who show symptoms. At the same time, law enforcement has begun issuing summons for non-violent crimes instead of booking new offenders into jail.

What has received far less attention is what these changes have meant for the health and safety of victims and our communities. Colorado has long recognized that crime victims are an important part of the criminal justice system, and our state’s constitution includes special protections for victims of specified crimes, including, for example, assault, child abuse and stalking. COVID-19 is putting an incredible strain on crime victims who are already struggling with difficult situations, especially victims of domestic violence, unlawful sexual behavior and violent felonies. We can’t let this pandemic nullify their rights. Now more than ever, crime victims should be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and their rights should be upheld in a manner no less vigorous than the rights afforded to defendants. These rights include ensuring they are informed of critical stages of the criminal justice process and that they may be present for, and heard, at certain stages as well. This is not only a just approach but it also affords victims time to make sure they are safe.

COVID-19 is a real threat, and we must work to protect first responders and those who are detained. The potential consequences of letting the wrong people out of jail early is an equal, if not greater, threat. Accordingly, as we balance each of the difficult challenges presented by this crisis, we must continue to also carefully consider each individual case and its impact on the safety of the victim and the community.

Sterling Harris is chief deputy director at the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance; Joe Pelle is sheriff of Boulder County, and Jim Bullock is district attorney of the 16th Judicial District, which includes Bent, Crowley and Otero counties.