Larimer County staff outline expansion of restorative-justice circles in community corrections

Larimer County Community Justice Alternatives staff on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, told the Board of County Commissioners they are expanding restorative-justice practices in Community Corrections and Alternative Sentencing to encourage accountability, repair harm and reduce recidivism.

Emily Humphrey, director of Community Justice Alternatives, described the work as aligning with the agency’s mission to prioritize community safety while offering alternatives to punitive-only responses. “We are really focusing on the community to make them safer, holding our folks accountable but giving a different way, a different lens of looking at where they're at and why they're there,” Humphrey said.

The presentation outlined how staff are using restorative practices — everyday actions and structured circle processes — alongside formal restorative justice dialogues. Commissioners were shown the program’s recent training history, client examples and planned operational changes intended to give clients more opportunity to acknowledge harm, make amends and follow through on concrete action plans.

Staff described three principal applications: high-impact victim–offender dialogue (used only when parties agree and supports are in place), sharing/healing circles for clients or staff, and community-accountability circles aimed at reflective questions and reparative actions. Alex Danielson, Community Justice Supervisor, framed the distinction this way: “Restorative justice responds to the harm while…