[Section 125 repealed effective July 1, 2028.]

§ 125. Criminal justice investments and trends; report

(a) Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the report on Vermont’s criminal justice investments and trends required under this section assist in the systemic assessment of the State‘s Justice Reinvestment and justice reform efforts and initiatives to inform future legislative policy and fiscal decisions.

(b) Definitions. As used in this section:

(1) “Arrest” means when a person is seized by law enforcement, charged with the commission of an offense, and referred for prosecution.

(2) “Clearance” means the process by which a law enforcement agency closes an offense by arrest or exceptional means in accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

(3) “Desistance” means the process by which criminality, or the individual risk for antisocial conduct, declines over the life-course of the individual, generally after adolescence.

(4) “Exceptional means” means the death of the offender, the victim’s refusal to cooperate with the prosecution after the offender is identified, the denial of extradition because the offender committed a crime in another jurisdiction and is being prosecuted for that offense, or other circumstance in accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

(5) “Recidivism” has the same meaning as in section 4 of this title.

(c) Report.

(1) On November 15, 2024 and every three years thereafter, the Vermont Statistical Analysis Center (SAC), in consultation with the Commissioners of Corrections, of Health, of Mental Health, of Public Safety, of Labor, and for Children and Families; the Attorney General; the Defender General; the Chief Superior Judge of the Superior Court; the Division of Racial Justice Statistics; the Executive Director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs; and the Parole Board Director, shall submit a report to the House Committees on Appropriations, on Judiciary, and on Corrections and Institutions, the Senate Committees on Appropriations and on Judiciary, the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee, and the Executive Director of the Office of Racial Equity examining the trends associated with Vermont’s criminal justice-related investments and expenditures since the last report was submitted pursuant to this section.

(2) The report required pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection shall include data showing:

(A) recidivism rates;

(B) clearance rates;

(C) evidence of desistance, including successful completion of community supervision;

(D) returns to incarceration from community supervision with the following relevant data points:

(i) community supervision type, classified by probation, parole, and furlough;

(ii) an indication if a return was for a violation or a new charge, including the crime type;

(iii) an indication if a violation was classified as “significant/not violent” or “significant and violent” for any applicable statuses; and

(iv) all available demographic information;

(E) bail rates, including detainees held without bail, detainees held with bail and the associated monetary amounts, and bailees who post bail and are released;

(F) pretrial detainees held in Vermont correctional facilities, including the crime type and jurisdiction for which they are held;

(G) the funding for, and utilization of, substance use disorder treatment, mental health, educational, and vocational initiatives for incarcerated individuals; and

(H) the funding for, and utilization by, individuals served through Justice Reinvestment II and related initiatives, including:

(i) domestic violence intervention programming in the Department of Corrections, including the results from the evaluation framework between the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the University of Nebraska;

(ii) offender transitional housing capacity with the Department of Corrections and other departments;

(iii) advancements to the Department of Corrections’ data collection Offender Management System;

(iv) agencies, departments, municipalities, programs, and services employing restorative justice principles, including community justice centers;

(v) other General Fund expenditures for Justice Reinvestment II initiatives;

(vi) the Department of Corrections’ out-of-state beds contracted by the Department and the average cost per bed in fiscal year 2019 and for each fiscal year thereafter; and

(vii) the Department of Corrections’ in-state beds, separated by gender, including specialty units and units closed or unavailable in fiscal year 2019 and for each fiscal year thereafter.

(d) Informational availability.

(1) The information required pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall include race, gender, age, and other demographic variables whenever possible.

(2) The report required pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall explain any obstacles or impediments to the availability and collectability of data required pursuant to this section, including whether collecting certain data would put particular populations at risk, along with the substance use and mental health needs and educational and vocational status of justice-involved individuals.

(e) Data sharing. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all State and local agencies and departments that possess the data necessary to compile the report required pursuant to this section shall, upon request, provide SAC with any data that it determines is relevant to the report. The obligation to disclose shall supersede any other legal obligation with respect to the data required pursuant to this section, and a department, agency, or other entity shall not decline to disclose data required based on any other purported legal obligation.

(f) Confidentiality. Any data or records transmitted to or obtained by SAC are exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act and shall be confidential to the extent required by law unless and until the data or records are included in the report required by this section. A State or local agency or department that transmits data or records to SAC shall be the sole records custodian for purposes of responding to requests for the data or records. SAC may direct any request for these data or records to the transmitting agency or department for response. (Added 2021, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § E.335.2, eff. July 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 40, § 1, eff. June 1, 2023; repealed by 2023, No. 40, § 4(b), eff. June 1, 2028.)