Survivor urges opt‑out notifications as committee weighs statutory fixes to victim‑notification system

The House Corrections and Institutions Committee on April 2 heard unanimous task‑force recommendations to change how victims are informed when defendants are detained or released, and witnesses urged clearer, trauma‑informed notice options.

Jennifer Pullman, executive director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services and chair of the victim‑notification task force, told the committee the group reached three consensus legislative recommendations. “The victim would know where the defendant is held, if the defendant is released, and how to locate the Department of Corrections Vermont offender locator website, and then how to register for automatic notifications when the defendant is released,” Pullman said, describing a revised victim‑information form that has been translated into 12 languages and is intended as a practical tool for arresting officers.

The change Pullman described would amend the law enforcement notice obligations in 13 V.S.A. §5314 to require inclusion of DOC offender‑locator and Vine enrollment information at the initial contact. Committee members raised concerns that giving that information at arrest could create a false expectation if an offender is not…