Vail, CO | Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Vail, CO

Vail, Colorado is a mountain town with 5,300 residents and significant seasonal increases in population each year. The Vail, CO Police Department, with a total staff of 65, reports recent challenges with increases in reported domestic violence incidents, child abuse, and aggravated assaults.

The Department was awarded RVCRI funding to implement the Mountain Safe program> Mountain Safe is a countywide justice/health/community services collaboration designed to reduce violent crime and victimization, especially among the youth and Spanish-speaking populations, which represent the most vulnerable segment of the community. The program consolidates existing criminal justice, behavioral health, youth intervention, victim advocacy, and community service programs under one overarching plan. The program is intended to help avoid duplication of services, rehabilitate offenders, and ensure victims are not overlooked in the administration of justice. The core components of intervention plans are based on an individual’s frequency of offending, frequency of victimization, crime types, trauma exposure, addictions, youth intervention strategy, and situational context.

Several key community-based partners, particularly individuals and organizations with experience engaging Vail’s immigrant communities, are unified around Mountain Safe’s shared goal of improving outcomes for victims and breaking the cycle of violent criminal behavior.