Chad Abraham:
"Aspen’s new assistant city attorney, who also serves as municipal prosecutor, said Friday she is reaching out to other officials in the areas of law enforcement and substance abuse treatment to try to reduce the number of repeat offenders appearing in court.
Debbie Quinn said she has spoken with the heads of The Right Door counseling center, the Pitkin County Jail and the county’s health and human services department about the recidivism issue. Her determination so far is that there are no quick fixes.
“It’s an issue in every community, dealing with the homeless, the mentally ill,” Quinn said, adding a sobering statistic that Colorado ranks 48th in the nation in funding for mental health care. “I don’t think we’re unusual, but it’s a dilemma.”
Brooke Peterson, an Aspen attorney and the city’s chief municipal judge, recently presided over a case involving a man whom the judge said has been in court every month for six months. On Wednesday, Peterson heard from Vince Savage, the director of the Aspen Homeless Shelter, about a woman who has been repeatedly arrested for trespassing. The Savage verdict: Aspen simply does not have the resources, such as a home for the mentally ill, that would best serve the woman...."
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