Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence
Special Victims Unit
District Attorney Brian Mason delivered on a campaign promise when he took office in 2021 and created a Special Victims Unit in the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office. This specialized division handles sensitive and highly complex sexual assault, human trafficking, and domestic violence cases.
The SVU is led by a Chief Deputy District Attorney, who is a foremost expert in this field, and a team of attorneys, investigators, and victim advocates who have years of experience handling sexual assault and domestic violence cases.
The victim-survivors in these cases often need a higher level of care and understanding due to their relationship to the perpetrator, the intense trauma incurred as a result of the crime, and the barriers created by this type of offense.
Family Justice Center
The 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office and District Attorney Brian Mason maintain a long-term goal of creating a Family Justice Center within our jurisdiction. The Domestic Violence High-Risk Team (detailed below) will be the foundation for the Family Justice Center. The Center will be a community-based, multi-disciplinary co-located service facility. Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking will have the ability to access critical services in one centralized location.
Timeline:
- In 2022, the DA's Office, law enforcement, and service providers created a multi-disciplinary Domestic Violence High-Risk Team (see below) for the 17th Judicial District (Adams and Broomfield, Colorado) to provide an enhanced response to DV situations and reduce the risk of further harm to the survivor.
- In February of 2024, the Family Justice Center Alliance visited the 17th Judicial District for a site study to determine if the jurisdiction was ready for the creation of a Family Justice Center. The FJC Alliance said they have never seen a jurisdiction as prepared for an FJC as Adams and Broomfield.
- In June of 2024, the FJC Alliance returned to the 17th Judicial District and joined the DA's Office, Adams and Broomfield County leadership, law enforcement, service providers, victims, and other community leaders to begin the strategic planning process.
- The next steps will include the creation of a temporary FJC in the 17th Judicial District prior to the opening of a permanent location that is still several years down the line.
- District Attorney Brian Mason and Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Fritts continue to make presentations to local municipalities and interested groups about the need and benefit of an FJC in the 17th Judicial District.
If you are interested in providing your thoughts to the FJC planning team on the future of this project, please fill out the survey below.
https://form.jotform.com/241546723427155
9News Story on Strategic Planning:
Broomfield and Adams counties plan for Family Justice Center
Domestic Violence High-Risk Team
The 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office is partnering with the Thornton Police Department, the Brighton Police Department, law enforcement throughout the Adams and Broomfield Counties, and other service providers, such as Family Tree and Servicios de la Raza, to create a multi-disciplinary team that will provide an enhanced response to domestic violence situations to ensure individuals are offered the appropriate resources. Officers on-scene will identify high-risk individuals experiencing domestic violence for referral to the Domestic Violence High-Risk team. The goal is to remove the silos that law enforcement, non-profits, and other government agencies sometimes operate within so information can be shared for the sake of the survivor's safety.
United States Congressmen Ed Perlmutter, Joe Neguse, and Jason Crow worked diligently in 2022 to obtain $2 million in federal appropriations to assist the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office, our service providers, law enforcement, and
Adams County in the formation of a state-of-the-art Domestic Violence High-Risk Team. The team supports survivors and prevents the escalation of domestic violence situations that research has shown can become fatal if proper intervention and necessary
resources are not available.
The scourge of domestic violence incidents continues in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this crisis, the DA's Office, law enforcement, and local service providers removed the silos that can exist within the criminal justice
community to form a Domestic Violence High-Risk Team that will wrap survivors and their children in support and services to protect them from further trauma caused by relationship violence.
The team is activated when an officer on scene determines through a risk-assessment tool that the survivor of the incident falls into the high-risk category. From that point forward, the survivor and their children are supported through the
entire process with access to temporary housing, legal assistance, mental health treatment, as well as school support for the children involved.
The pilot program is already underway in Thornton and Brighton and will be expanded throughout Adams County and into Broomfield County because of the funding obtained by Congressmen Perlmutter, Neguse, and Crow. The ultimate goal is the creation
of a Family Justice Center that will house all of the support and services of the DVHRT in one location for survivors.
To access the live stream of the event where the DVHRT was publicly unveiled, use this link, https://www.facebook.com/da17colorado/videos/1224090725059600
"Getting here today was an enormous collaborative effort, and we are really proud of it. Now that we've secured the funding, we have to do the work. We have to serve domestic violence survivors better. This team will work to ensure that survivors receive the critical support they need to avoid ending up on an autopsy table."
--District Attorney Brian Mason
“From temporary housing assistance to legal guidance, this team is making a real difference in our community for the victims of domestic violence. Access to comprehensive, life-saving services and resources is critical, and I’m pleased to see this funding ensure more victims and their family members are able to stay out of harm’s way.”
--Congressman Ed Perlmutter
"This vital funding will provide life-saving resources for survivors of domestic violence and their children. I look forward to our continued partnership with the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office as we work to create safer communities for everyone."
--Congressman Joe Neguse
“Survivors of domestic violence and their families face a long road to healing. Adams County’s Domestic Violence High-Risk Team leads the way, extending a village of support to families with wrap-around services on the path forward. I’m proud to have worked alongside Reps. Perlmutter and Neguse to deliver $2 million to give families what they deserve.”
--Congressman Jason Crow
"Partnership is the key. If there's any one agency or advocacy group that sets out to solve the problem of domestic and intimate-partner violence alone then they've already failed because we can't do it alone."
--Thornton Police Chief Terrence Gordon
"We are beyond grateful for the $2 million in federal funding to help domestic violence victims in Adams County and the 17th Judicial District. The victim and family-centered approach with access to expanded programs, partnerships, education, and services allows us to better serve our residents in a time of crisis."
--Lynn Baca, Chair of the Adams County Board of Commissioners
"Multi-systemic collaborations are hard, they're challenging, but when we do it right for the noble goal of serving people affected by intimate-partner violence and bringing forward better services for them that are responsive and impactful, we do something together we can't do alone."
--Scott Shields, Family Tree CEO
"This is reality. As advocates, we've been wishing for a collaboration like this to make our jobs even stronger, and together we are stronger. We'll be able to provide those services to our survivors and their children and help them break that cycle."
--Sylvia Gambos, Servicios de la Raza Program Director
"The Brighton Police Department is fully supportive of the mission of the Domestic Violence High Risk Team and looks forward to the enhanced, supportive services this effort will provide to victims of domestic violence in our communities."
--Brighton Police Department
"”Project Safeguard is proud to be a part of this collaboration in the 17th Judicial district. We have provided services to victims of gender-based violence in Adams and Broomfield counties for more than twenty years. Since Alternatives to Family Violence abruptly closed its doors more than six years ago, we have eagerly awaited and advocated for the creation of new services in Adams County. As founding partners at the Rose Andom Center, Denver’s family justice center, and of the Collaborative Domestic Violence Response Team, we are excited to bring our expertise and advocacy to the Domestic Violence High Risk Team and to the efforts to create a family justice center to serve these communities.”
--Project Safeguard
"Brighton Housing Authority is grateful for the federal appropriation to support the expansion of the DVHRT. Our agency has seen firsthand the effectiveness of the collaboration and information sharing that this partnership offers. It has been a game changer in supporting victims of domestic violence in our community."
--Brighton Housing Authority
Fast Tracks
To further enhance the services provided to victims, specifically those in domestic violence situations, a Victim Advocate Specialist and a Deputy District Attorney form a Fast Track team. That team's mission is to reach out to victims post-arrest and inform them of their rights pursuant to the Victim Rights Act. The Fast Track team will also offer services to the victim, discuss the court and criminal justice process in detail, as well as provide an explanation of the protection order and bond. The goal is to provide critical information and resources and minimize the amount of time a DV criminal case is pending.
