Republican Gov. Phil Scott says many Vermonters have lost faith in their criminal justice system, and he wants prosecutors and judges to impose stricter criminal sanctions on alleged repeat offenders.
Scott used his weekly media briefing Wednesday to announce legislation that would create clearer legal standards for when a defendant can be held without bail. He said the provision will address a practice that his administration has coined “catch and release.”
“And we’ll give comfort to at least the community, who don’t understand why we’re just letting them go and reoffend dozens of times,” Scott said Wednesday.
According to the most recent Vermont Crime Report, the total number of criminal offenses in the state rose by nearly 16% between 2021 and 2022. Those figures include a 29% spike in larceny and theft offenses.
As we look at public safety in Vermont, we need to look at some of those root causes.Falko Schilling, Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union
Total property losses due to criminal activity, according to the Vermont Crime Information Center, jumped from $11.1 million in 2021 to $18.2 million in 2022. Scott’s top legal counsel, Jaye Pershing Johnson, said the lack of consequences for repeat offenders has contributed to the surge.
“If they continue to commit crimes and there are no consequences, they really have no incentive to stop committing crimes,” Johnson said.
South Burlington Rep. Martin LaLonde, the Democratic chair of the House judiciary committee, said the Legislature enacted a law last year that sought to address the concerns Scott raised Wednesday. But LaLonde said the Vermont Constitution puts narrow limits on when an alleged offender can be detained prior to being convicted in a court of law.
“I believe we’ve done all we can within the restrictions in the Constitution,” he said. “But we will look. If they have ideas and it’s constitutional, we’re definitely open to that, because I do understand the underlying concern, and I agree with that.”
Falko Schilling, advocacy director at the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the most effective way to deal with quality-of-life crime in Vermont is to address its underlying causes.
“Many of the people involved in our criminal legal system are folks with untreated mental health issues and substance use disorder as well as folks in poverty,” Schilling said. “And so as we look at public safety in Vermont, we need to look at some of those root causes. How do we address them before someone actually becomes involved in the criminal legal system in the first place?”
Schilling said the state also risks constitutional violations by depriving individuals of their liberty without due process.
“When the government tries to infringe on those rights, that’s a very serious issue,” he said.
If they’re not held accountable, there’s no reason for them to comply with the law.Gov. Phil Scott
Scott’s legislative proposal comes one day after Commissioner of Corrections Nick Deml told lawmakers that Vermont’s prisons are already operating above capacity. Though Vermont’s overall incarceration rate is second-lowest among all states nationally, “Vermont DOC facilities remain oversubscribed,” according to documents submitted to the Legislature by Deml.
The bed crunch stems in part from an unprecedented increase in the number of alleged offenders who are already being incarcerated in advance of their trials. Between 2020 and now, according to the Department of Corrections, the number of pre-trial detainees has risen from 320 to 551.
Johnson said the governor’s proposal could lead to a “bump in detentions initially.” But Scott said the policy, if adopted by the Legislature and implemented by the courts, would quickly serve as a deterrent.
“Holding people accountable might lead to fewer people actually being arrested, doing some of the crimes,” Scott said. “If they’re not held accountable, there’s no reason for them to comply with the law.”
Scott will also introduce legislation that would repeal a law known as “Raise the Age,” which would, beginning in April of this year, funnel most criminal offenders age 19 and younger into family court instead of criminal court.
LaLonde said his committee will be taking testimony next week on whether to make changes to the statute, which was first enacted in 2018. He said lawmakers passed the bill to ensure that “individuals who make mistakes early in life, that that doesn’t follow them through the rest of their life.”
“That’s the purpose of this,” LaLonde said. “We have to balance that against public safety, which I think is the administration’s concern and our concern.”
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
_
