The House overwhelmingly approved a bill on Wednesday that addresses a dramatic increase in the number of racial minorities in Vermont’s prison system.
In 2010, about 10 percent of the state’s inmates were black; only 1 percent of Vermont’s population is African American. About 5 percent of prisoners were black in 2001.
The growing disproportionate representation of blacks in prison has raised questions about racial bias among law enforcement officials and the court system.
House Bill 535 would require all Vermont law enforcement agencies to implement “bias-free” policing policies designed to deter police from racial discrimination. The policies would be based on Vermont State Police guidelines and recommendations the Attorney General’s office made to the state’s 73 independent policing entities in 2010. About 30 municipal police and sheriffs departments have policies addressing racial discrimination.
The plan also requires the state’s 73 separate police agencies to collect roadside stop data on race. Lawmakers also set aside $20,000 for a study of court sentencing practices.
The House approved the measure 132-7 on third reading.
Rep. Jason Lorber, D-Burlington, who first sponsored the bill in 2006, said “racism is alive and well in Vermont” and H.535 is “the first step acknowledging we have a problem (in the criminal justice system) and quantifying the problem as best we can.”
“This should not be up to people of color,” Lorber said. “White people have a responsibility to address the culture we have created.”
Other lawmakers who supported the bill recounted their experiences with police.
Rep. Kevin Christie, D-Hartland, the only African-American member of the House, asked lawmakers to imagine what it feels like “to drive home in the state you call home and time after time you are stopped at the checkpoint.”
“I don’t get stopped as often anymore because of the white plate (the House license plate), and that’s kind of sad,” Christie said.
African American males in Vermont were 1.5 times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, according to a 2003 study by the Vermont Center for Justice Research. Black females were 2.6 times more likely to be arrested.
Robert Appel, the executive director of the Human Rights Commission, said the study will settle long-running questions about what factors are driving the racial disparity in Vermont’s prison system. “Is it racial bias and outright prejudice? Or is it out-of-state drug dealers?” Appel said. “The myth is (drug dealers) are the whole population. … Now we’ll have the data to confirm or debunk the myth.”
The study by the Vermont Center for Justice Research will cost $60,000; the $20,000 in state funds will be matched with federal grant monies. The study will access FBI databases for out-of-state criminal records, Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Corrections and Vermont Crime Information Center data.
Rep. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, chair of House Judiciary, told lawmakers that up to now officials in the criminal justice system have cited anecdotal information about out-of-state drug dealers filling Vermont’s jails. “That may be part of the analysis or may have nothing to do with it,” Lippert said.
“Once we have the data in hand to understand where and how racial disparities exist we will be in much better position to look at decision points for other disparities,” Lippert said.
The Law Enforcement Advisory Board will set the bias-free policing policy. There is no mechanism in the bill to require a report to the Legislature verifying whether departments have adopted or complied with the policy. Though anti-discrimination training is required, there is no set number of hours required.
Vermont has long vied with Maine for the distinction of being the whitest state in the nation. Less than 5 percent of Vermont’s population is non-white.
On Monday, Uncommon Alliance, a group that brings together advocates for racial minorities and local police departments, will issue an annual report on traffic stop data. South Burlington, Burlington, Winooski and University of Vermont police departments all participated in the study, which keeps track of the ratio of white and non-white traffic stops.
