The chairman of the Vermont Legislature's Corrections Oversight Committee wants to know more about how the Department of Corrections decides where offenders are sent to live after being released from prison. Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, said he has heard reports some communities, such as Barre, feel large numbers of offenders are being “dumped” on them, reports the Associated Press.
Corrections Commissioner Robert Hofmann said it could be that offenders live in larger communities because of access to housing, social services, treatment programs and jobs. Sears wants to know by his committee's next meeting how many risky offenders have been placed in Washington County. “We need to respond to these complaints with actual information instead of just guessing,” said Sears. Barre officials complain they are home to a higher number of offenders than other communities.
Link: http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/NEWS/80729008