Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 130 - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS › Chapter 023 - COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION › Section 13 130 023 - COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION

Current through June, 2024
AUTHORITY
28 Vermont Statutes Annotated, Chapter 1 section
				  1;
				  Chapter 3 sections
				  101,
				  104; and
				  Chapter 11 section 808.
PURPOSE
To provide notice to affected community legislative bodies
				  and criminal justice agencies when the department plans to place more than two
				  furloughed offenders in a single residential dwelling.
APPLICABILITY & ACCESSIBILITY
This policy applies to all department staff, employees and
				  volunteers. Anyone may have access to this policy.
DEFINITIONS
"Community placement address or home address" means the
				  actual residence of an offender who is living in the community while being
				  supervised by the department.
"Conviction" means a judgment of guilty following a verdict
				  or a finding of guilt, a plea of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere to the
				  criminal laws of this state.
"Criminal history" means records in the possession of the
				  department that pertain to any past criminal offense(s), conviction(s) or
				  sentence(s) of any individual offender currently on furlough.
"Criminal justice entities" means any entity authorized to
				  engage in community policing, or any entity established in whole or part with
				  any public monies for the purposes of addressing community safety, prevention
				  of crime, rights and needs of victims, or the reintegration of
				  offenders.
"Day" means a weekday excluding federal or state
				  holidays.
"Dwelling" means any location owned or rented by the offender
				  or an apartment or residential space owned or leased by the Department, in
				  which an offender is housed, other than a correctional facility named as
				  such.
"Furlough" for the purposes of this policy means a period of
				  reintegration into the community following incarceration during which the
				  offender is participating in restorative and/or risk management
				  programs.
"Incarceration" means service of any portion of a sentence
				  imposed under the criminal laws of this state in a correctional
				  facility.
"Notice" means dissemination of information in any form to
				  include but not limited to the print media, documents, and electronic
				  transmission.
"Offender" means any person convicted of a crime or offense
				  under the laws of this state.
"Offense" means the conduct underlying a conviction.
"Reintegration" means any process that assists offenders in
				  assuming responsible roles as productive and law abiding members of the
				  community and identifies ways to assist victim recovery.
"Risk" means the degree of dangerousness, degree of harm and
				  likelihood of future conduct by an offender on furlough where such conduct is a
				  violation of the criminal laws of this state.
POLICY
Notification of released offenders
A. Notice to Towns and Communities
The Department shall make available a public web site that
				  will contain a list of the number of offenders currently in the custody and
				  control of the department. This List shall contain a breakdown of the number of
				  offenders supervised by the department in the community and the name of the
				  towns where the offenders currently resides (this list shall not contain the
				  names of offenders or their criminal history). The department shall update the
				  list periodically using its own records.
B. Law Enforcement Entities
All offenders released on furlough shall be added to a
				  listing that shall be made available to all local, county, and state law
				  enforcement agencies. Copies of the list may be provided to law enforcement
				  agencies, or posted via a web site accessible only by law enforcement agencies.
				  Information on this listing shall include the following:
-- The offender's name and any aliases
-- The offender's current address
-- Current offense and sentence
-- The name, address, and telephone number of the department
				  of corrections office with supervision over the offender.
Those law enforcement agencies gaining access to this
				  information must comply with the department's rules governing confidentiality
				  of offender and victim information and nothing shall restrict a law enforcement
				  entity from taking whatever action is appropriate in a particular case to
				  protect victims and members of the public.
C. Victim Notification
Nothing in this policy relieves the department from notifying
				  victims who have requested individual notification of release of the offender.
				  If the department releases an offender who was convicted of an offense in which
				  the victim was a minor or elderly person, notice shall be made to the
				  department of social and rehabilitative services.
Notification of Multiple Offender Residential Housing
The department shall provide advance notice to the
				  appropriate state, county and local criminal justice entities and local
				  legislative bodies in a particular community of the fact that offenders -- in
				  any legal status under the department's supervision -- will be residing in a
				  dwelling in the affected community in the following circumstances:
-- If the department has made arrangements to use the
				  dwelling for the joint use of three or more offenders on community supervision,
				  notice must be made at least 15 days prior to placing any offender in such
				  dwelling; or
-- If the department is currently using the dwelling as a
				  residence for one or two offenders and it plans to use the dwelling for at
				  least three offenders, notice must be made at least 15 days prior to placing a
				  third offender in the dwelling.
-- If the department is currently using (at the promulgation
				  of this policy) a dwelling for more than two offenders, notice of that fact
				  shall be made as soon as possible.
Directives
The department shall promulgate directives to implement the
				  provisions of this policy.
Statutory Authority:
				  28 V.S.A. §§
											1,
				  101,
				  104
				  and
				  808