2012 Power List: Locals who made a difference this year

Gary Wilson

Denver Director of Corrections Gary Wilson is honored as a straight ally for leading an initiative to provide fair accommodation for transgender people entering Denver’s criminal justice system. 

The justice system can be a scary place for anyone finding themselves on the wrong end of it, but Colorado’s transgender community members are especially vulnerable to harassment, misidentification and physical and emotional danger in corrections programs and jails.

Until recently, the Denver Sherriff’s Department jail system didn’t have a consistent way of processing and housing transgender inmates – often shuffling them to special management, which may result in being locked down 23 hours of the day. For Director of Corrections Gary Wilson, that was a problem.

“In the past, for persons who were transgender that would come into our system – mostly pre-op individuals – it wasn’t a guarantee, but very close to a guarantee that those individuals would end up in an isolated cell,” Wilson said.

Wilson was instrumental in the new policies that came to be – through a taskforce of mental health professionals, uniformed officers and community voices – much more apt to address transgender identities. The unprecedented new policies and recommendations, announced in June, will be subject to continuous review and revision.

Experts on transgender and legal issues from the GLBT Community Center of Colorado, Denver’s branch of the ACLU, Denver’s GLBT Commission, Wilson and Denver Sherriff’s Department staff members worked to increase the Sherriff’s Departments sensitivity to transgender issues and develop the new policies.

A new permanent review board will address persons identifying as transgender on a case-by-case basis, taking input from a team of psychologists, a classification staff and an LGBT community advocate to come up with individualized recommendations.

“With all that expertise there, we look at what’s best for that individual,” Wilson said. “It’s a huge cultural shift in the system. It could very well affect a person who is transgender to be placed in housing of the gender they identify with.”

Wilson said it wasn’t a complicated decision to set up the process – it’s “to ensure safety for all individuals that come through, and to prevent harm for everyone who comes through.” “If persons who are transgendered can function in our community, we need to find a way for them to function in the jail system. We’re absolutely committed to that – it’s about fairness and safety. So all individuals who come through can have access to all the programs and services.”

It’s humbling, Wilson said, to be recognized by the community for that work. “I absolutely see it as an honor to be recognized. I would like it to be known this could only have been done with several members of the Denver Sheriff’s Department, [The Center’s transgender program coordinator] Courtney Gray, Mindy Barton and many other individuals in the LGBT community.”