A Plan to Reimagine Policing in Vermont

We have an opportunity and a responsibility to advance racial justice, reimagine the role of police in our communities, and create a better state for all Vermonters.

Despite decades of efforts to curb police violence and address systemic racism, it is clear how much remains the same. Data consistently shows Vermont law enforcement stops, searches, and arrests Black and Brown people at disproportionate rates, and the number of Vermonters killed by police has increased over the last several decades, with 2019 being the deadliest to date.

The ACLU and a diverse group of Vermont-based organizations have released this ten-part action plan for police reform in Vermont. We are calling on lawmakers to take bold action to limit the unchecked power of police and make much-needed investments in Vermont communities. And we are asking our supporters to make their voices heard.

Across the country, people have taken to the streets, packed city council meetings, and called on legislators, demanding a reimagination of public safety and well-being that prioritizes communities over policing. Now is the time for us to demand real change, at the local, state, and federal levels.

1. End qualified immunity. Vermont law shields officials who abuse their power from meaningful accountability. State lawmakers need to disincentivize police misconduct.
2. Remove police from schools. The presence of “school resource officers” (SROs) disproportionately harms students of color, students with disabilities, and low-income students. We must end the use of police in schools and invest in educational support services.
3. Limit police involvement in low-level offenses. We must prevent unnecessary police interactions which disproportionately impact people of color. That includes limiting police involvement in mental health crises, authority to conduct “consent”-based searches, and discretion to cite or arrest for petty offenses like “disorderly conduct.”
4. Ban police use of military-grade equipment and techniques. Police militarization is unnecessary and dangerous. Giving police military equipment encourages the use of paramilitary tactics with civilians, including no-knock raids, as well as abusive “crowd control techniques,” such as use of pepper spray, rubber bullets, tear gas, and sound canons.
5. Prohibit use of new and invasive surveillance technologies, including new surveillance technologies, advanced or autonomous weaponry, facial recognition software, and predictive policing technologies.
6. Require appointment of independent counsel outside of State’s Attorneys and the Attorney General’s office to review and prosecute police misconduct.
7. Increase transparency so that police misconduct cannot be concealed. That includes ending confidentiality for officer disciplinary records and other limits on public access to information.
8. Require robust, systemwide data collection and analysis from police, prosecutors, courts, parole board, and Department of Corrections to detect and eradicate systemic racism.
9. Establish community control and authority over law enforcement, including over police priorities, transparency, and discipline, and end collective bargaining agreement provisions that limit oversight and accountability.
10. INVEST in communities, not policing. It is time to demand that our laws and our investments match our values as Vermonters, and to affirm that Black Lives Matter. Local and state policymakers must prioritize people and communities, not policing and prisons.

ACLU of Vermont

Justice for All

Migrant Justice

Outright Vermont

Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund

Pride Center of Vermont

Rights and Democracy

Vermont Branches of the NAACP

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility

Vermont Center for Independent Living

Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform

Vermont Human Rights Commission

Vermont Legal Aid

Vermont Public Interest Research Group

Voices for Vermont's Children

Women's Justice and Freedom Initiative

Read more about our police reform work here.