The Colorado State University Police Department is introducing its Blue Envelope Program to CSU.

The Blue Envelope Program aims to streamline communication between community members and CSU Police, especially for those with disabilities or conditions that hinder communication.

CSUPD began organizing the introduction of the Blue Envelope Program last April, with the goal of launching the program this academic year.

“At its heart, this program is about understanding and respect. The Blue Envelope Program provides community members who may have conditions or disabilities affecting communication with a simple yet powerful tool to help our officers better serve them during traffic stops.” -Stacey Clement, CSUPD deputy chief

The Blue Envelope Program has already been implemented in several police departments in Colorado. Boulder County was one of the first Colorado police departments to adopt the program, and several others followed suit, including the Fort Collins Police Department.

“We got a bulletin at the state level that said, ‘A lot of Colorado agencies are pushing this program across our state,”’ said Kacie Thielman, CSUPD community outreach officer. “And I had never heard of it before, a lot of us hadn’t.”

CSUPD’s program is in collaboration with the one present in the Fort Collins Police Services. Both departments worked together to streamline their respective programs across both the CSU and Fort Collins communities.

“(CSUPD) reached out once they heard we were starting up, and we spoke with the CSU representative Kacie Thielman,” said Dexter Rowe, FCPD community engagement officer. “She reached out to us and we talked about it, and we exchanged ideas and sent the different envelopes over to her.”

The program extends beyond the scope of CSUPD and the state level. The purpose of the program is one of understanding as much as it is one of utility; it is part of a nationwide effort to make encounters between law enforcement and community members less stressful.

“At its heart, this program is about understanding and respect,” said Stacey Clement, CSUPD deputy chief. “The Blue Envelope Program provides community members who may have conditions or disabilities affecting communication with a simple yet powerful tool to help our officers better serve them during traffic stops.”

The program has only been around for a few months, but it has received a lot of attention already. Much of it comes from efforts to present the program to key communities via presentations, press releases and word of mouth.

“We just initiated this program four or five months ago, and in that time it has taken off significantly for this community,” Rowe said. “We’re out of envelopes at this point; it’s time to reorder. People are coming into the station and getting them. We’ve taken them to several different presentations around the city. We’re going to also start to spread information about the blue envelope to our other first responding agencies.”

The envelope’s purpose is to hold information that people with conditions that hinder communication may have trouble telling a police officer. On the envelope, there are spaces where the user can jot down important information, such as name, contact information and specific disabilities or tendencies. Also printed on the envelope are instructions for the user when they encounter an officer.

The inside of the envelope provides space for the user to place important documents, such as vehicle registration, medical documentation and communication cards explaining the user’s condition.

“Instead of you having to go through all your stuff, or if you have some type of disability that prevents you from communicating effectively with me, you just hand me that blue envelope,” Thielman said. “I already know what that means. I know that if I’m being handed an envelope by an individual, they need some assistance.”

Several conditions may make police encounters difficult. The blue envelope allows the user to communicate which conditions they have, such as being nonverbal, sensitive to loud sounds, inclined to resist help or likely to avoid eye contact.

“It’s already a stressful situation, but for a neurodivergent driver, it could be even more stressful,” Rowe said. “It could be something that sends them into a very uncomfortable situation. We really, really want them to know that this blue envelope is a way to lessen that stress and ease that comfort and allow communication.”

The Blue Envelope Program is most useful for low-stakes encounters with police, such as traffic stops. However, this initiative may not be appropriate for high-stakes cases, during which property or lives may be at risk.

“There’s some interactions where this program doesn’t mean anything,” Thielman said. “If we have to take action, we have to take action. But in most interactions where we’re dealing with people on low-level offenses, we can take our time. We can communicate better.”

CSUPD worked closely with the Student Disability Center to develop the Blue Envelope Program. In order to grow the initiative, community outreach is a priority for both CSUPD and the SDC.

“I’m part of doing all the orientations and resource fairs for students already — for new students and transfer students and international students,” Thielman said. “I work closely already with the Student Disability Center in those areas. We’re hoping that this fall, we’re rolling it out, seeing how much interest there is. But ultimately, we would like to have it as part of the orientation process.”

Reach Robert Sides at news@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.