Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD)

In 2011, the Colorado General Assembly passed legislation instituting restorative justice practices in the Department of Corrections, eventually paving the way for Victim Offender Dialogues (VOD) (C.R.S.A. § 17-28-103). The VOD is a facilitated process which occurs between victims, survivors, or family survivors of serious, violent crime and the offender in their case. Most often, the VOD process results in a facilitated face-to-face meeting between the victim or survivor and the offender. The overall goal of this process is to provide victims and survivors the opportunity to tell their story, express the impacts of the crime on their lives, and hear the offender take direct accountability for the harm caused.