Effective January 1, 2025 the Statewide Policy on Law Enforcement Officer's Code of Conduct will be legislatively mandated under Title 20 VSA 2371(a) (Act 124)
Below is a video overview of Law Enforcement Officer's Code of Conduct. This overview will be provided for information on statutory changes, sanctions for on and off-duty conduct, expectations for agencies that are required to investigate complaints of unprofessional conduct, and for officers to understand how violations of the Code of Conduct may impact their certification.
VCJC Law Enforcement Officers' Code of Conduct.pdf
Fair and Impartial Policing Policy 2024
Date: April 24, 2024
Fair and Impartial Policing Policy
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024 the Vermont Criminal Justice Council (VCJC) approved an update to the VCJC’s model Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) policy. The unanimous vote, 18-0, in favor of the proposed revision was the culmination of multiple Council meetings dedicated to the discussion of five recommendations presented to the Council by the Council’s Fair and Impartial Policing Subcommittee.
The VCJC’s model Fair and Impartial Policing policy was last updated in January of 2018. While the policy has been reviewed for legal compliance, this is the first substantial update of the policy. In August of 2022, the Fair and Impartial subcommittee began its review of the policy focused on the sections of the policy concerning immigration and citizenship status. The subcommittee, comprised of Council members and community stakeholders, worked for over a year and a half, engaging with immigration advocacy groups and the Attorney General’s office to create recommended changes to the policy.
Some of the subcommittee’s recommendations were accepted in their entirety and some of the recommendations were not. The recommendations that were not adopted initially by the Council concerned a legal issue as to whether two of the recommendations conflicted with Federal immigration law. After much discussion, the Council, through negotiation and compromise was able to move forward in updated language in the two recommended areas with alternative language proposed by Council members.
Now that the Council has approved an updated FIP policy, individual law enforcement agencies will update their agency-specific Fair and Impartial Policing policy as soon as is practicable for the agency and its community. The VCJC, in consultation with the Attorney General’s Office, will review every agency’s updated FIP policy for compliance. This review needs to be completed within the next six months.
A copy of the policy can be found on our website: Model Fair and Impartial Policing policy | Criminal Justice Council (vermont.gov)
Annual Training Requirements for agencies are due March 1, 2024 for training obtained from January 1, 2023-December 31, 2023. All waivers for training needed outside of 2023 need to be submitted by December 31, 2023. Each agency has until March 1, 2024 to submit the 2023 annual training affidavit. See more information here: Annual Training Requirements for Certification (Rule 13) | Criminal Justice Council (vermont.gov)