Crime and the Court System in Vermont

Ask anyone in Vermont who isn't blinded by Liberal agenda about the crime in Vermont, and you'll likely hear comments ranging from disgust to outright anger, and often those comments will come from victims of some sort of crime within the last couple of years.

Crimes statistics from year to year are available at https://vcic.vermont.gov/calendar-years-2021-2029 and actually show up through 2023. I guess the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Vermont Crime Information Center is a little overwhelmed.

Of their two categories, in 2023, they reported "Group ‘A’ crimes increased by 5.15% when compared to 2022. The most notable statistical increases reported were Crimes Against Society, which consists of Drug/Narcotic Offenses, Human Trafficking, Prostitution, Weapons Law Violations, Pornography/Obscene Materials, and Animal Cruelty, up from 1,319 to 1,524 offenses in 2023; Drug/Narcotic Offenses, up 14.64% to 1,245 offenses; and Larceny/Theft Offenses (combined), up 9.54% to 10,402 offenses." These numbers are populated when a law enforcement agency takes a report of a crime.

Group 'B' crimes show a decrease in crime, however statistics are generated only when an "actual arrest is made".

What is the cause of this? For starters, ACLU of Vermont and "criminal rights activists" or bleeding hearts, enacted Act 164, Bail Reform. And Act 125, and Act 178 with a number of drug related changes to Vermont law.

The bail reform was intended to lessen the population of Vermont prisons by letting free people that couldn't post bail. Information shows 6 years later that this is not the case and only releases repeat offenders, tying up the courts.

Act 125. Contributes to the increase in crime by allowing immunity from prosecution if requesting help for someone else. Therefore, causing no accountability for their crimes.

And I would be amiss if I didn't include Act 178 (Safe Injection Sites) which was passed sadly after the Democrat Supermajority overrode