How I’ll Make Our Vermont Communities Safer

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Violent crime has increased alarmingly in the Green Mountains - murders and violent attacks in Burlington are sadly becoming commonplace events. And on October 14, Seven Days reported that methamphetamine use is increasing.

The increase in violence and drug activity has spread into rural communities statewide. There is a direct connection between this threat to public safety and Progressive policies that have:

  • Labeled all Vermont police as racist for arresting BIPOC defendants. It is quite sensible that drug trafficking from inner cities involves people of color – the demographics of New York City, Hartford, and Springfield are very different from Vermont’s. But when police intervene they are labeled racist regardless of the guilt of the offenders. As a result of this and other policies, Vermont has a dire police officer shortage. Yet Progressives still plan to eliminate qualified immunity for police officers, which will greatly compound this shortage.
  • Increased the age of majority for offenders. Young adults are now treated as children by the legal system, encouraging criminal conduct in the very age group most likely to perpetrate violent crime.
  • Softened probation oversight substantially, leading to lax oversight of convicted offenders
  • Reduced sentence length for convicted offenders through “decarceration” policies.
  • Released those charged with crimes easily under “no cash bail” policies.
  • Defunded police departments, at the expense of citizen protection.

In Vermont, criminals are being treated as victims, creating more crime and true victimhood.

I never endorse police brutality or corruption, but I strongly support our hard-working police. As a former criminal defense attorney, I have seen many victims as well as defendants – Vermont is out of balance.

I propose to improve mental health care in Vermont, which will reduce crime while giving overdue relief to burdened hospitals. I endorse more counseling for substance abusers, especially prison inmates, to help get them off synthetic opioids. I propose to increase funding for state and local police, and increase policing of opioid and sex trafficking into Vermont. I oppose legalizing prostitution, which opens the door to yet more trafficking of both drugs and sex workers. And we must prosecute violent offenders aggressively, to prevent violent crime and send a message that public safety in Vermont is a high priority!