In Colorado Springs Colorado, Skyline Correctional Facility has a program called the Beacon program. The Beacon program is a program only at the Skyline Correctional Facility. The facility is a level 1 facility, which is the lowest level security. Level 1 security facilities have designated boundaries but don’t have perimeter fencing. Offenders that get transferred to this place have proven themselves to be harmless to other offenders, not going to escape, going to be getting out relatively soon, and trying to better themselves for when they get out. This isn’t an easy thing to prove. Most of the people going into level 1 facilities and programs like these, must prove for years and decades that they are ready for this kind of help. This program is not just to help these offenders with school and education to be able to get a job after they get out (which they do that too), but to help them with everyday life things that they never learned because they went in as youth, or they don’t know because the world has changed so much and technology is so different than it was when they were free. Some of the things they help offenders experience and learn, is culture. For example, how to use a new cell phone, what style is in now days, what slang is used right now, etc.

This program is at risk of getting funding cut. From having 326 beds open, to having 126 beds not available. They also plan on closing 200 beds at the Buena Vista Correctional complex. They will also be moving 96 of those people who are in the 126 beds, to Centennial Correctional Facility, which is a maximum-security prison. Not for bad behavior but for the open beds they have available. This will not only halt people’s rehabilitation process but set them back further, causing them to act up in this new facility and when they get out.

A former inmate, Geordan Morris, had to serve 9+ years before getting into the program. These offenders could have violent charges but have proven that they are being rehabilitated/ habilitated. The purpose of the Beacon program is to create “space for self-improvement, an increased level of choice, and a positive community focus” (CDOC). The program has proven to cultural shape people and re-enter into society as a “functioning individual” (KRDO). Geordan Morris says that he wants to be a peer recovery support specialist now and that the program has helped him come to this conclusion. He just got out and has an interview soon to become one. Not only has this program helped him find something he wants to do, but how to act in busy places when he gets out, how to normally integrate back into society. For most inmates who serve years, they don’t even know how to use a new day cell phone.  

This program doesn’t only help offenders reintegrate back into life, but also helps society deal with newly released offenders. By allowing the newly released offender how to react to people, there is less confrontation and confusion in the real world. The offender’s family does not have to hold their hand as much when they get out, for the ones that even have family to come home to. The main purpose of incarcerating people is to deter people from offending again or locking them up so they can’t. But for the people with a release date, the purpose is encouraging these people not to reoffend. This program has proven to drive recidivism rates down tremendously. This keeps our society safe, loved ones happy, a larger labor force, etc. Another huge benefit is the more money we spend on these programs for a few years of the offender’s life, can save people from a lifetime of coming back and using tax money on that, the less offender’s society has, the more money we can spend on schools and roads and other great things.

Bibliography

Coffey, E. (2024, January 25). Families of Skyline Correctional Center inmates petition against DOC proposal to close facility. KRDO. https://krdo.com/news/2024/01/24/families-of-skyline-correctional-center-inmates-petition-against-doc-proposal-to-close-facility/ 

Skyline Correctional Center. Department of Corrections. (n.d.). https://cdoc.colorado.gov/facilities/canon-city/skyline-correctional-center 

Statutes, codes, and regulations. Legal research tools from Casetext. (n.d.). https://casetext.com/statute/colorado-revised-statutes/title-17-corrections/department-of-corrections/organization/article-1-department-of-corrections/part-1-corrections-administration/section-17-1-1043-correctional-facilities-locations-security-level-report