A package of proposed new laws from Gov. Phil Scott’s administration seeks to address the public’s concerns over crime by reining in some Democrat-led initiatives in recent years while at the same time recognizing that Vermonters would not accept a far-right lurch on law enforcement.

“The pendulum swung so far in one direction and we need to bring it back to the middle,” said Jennifer Morrison, the state’s public safety commissioner in an interview with the Valley News. “We want to see a greater number of tools in the toolbox that would allow for the safety of the community to be considered.”

Morrison, whose department oversees the Vermont State Police, emergency management, fire safety and forensic lab, said the Scott administration’s 2025 public safety omnibus bill encompasses nearly a dozen components that address public concerns about public safety, including repeal of the 2018 law that would raise the age of youthful offenders to 19 and a limit on judges’ discretion in reducing sentences for repeat violent offenders.

The omnibus bill, elements of which the Legislature is taking up separately, was crafted from feedback Morrison and her staff have received as they toured public forums around the state over the past year.

“What we consistently have been hearing is that people are tired of serious crime related to drug trafficking treated very gently or not really being addressed at all,” Morrison said. “They’re tired of the ‘familiar faces’ — people in their communities who consistently commit crime and make their town and public spaces feel unsafe.”

Peoples’ fears aside, Vermont consistently ranks among the states with the lowest crime rates in the country.

The omnibus bill also calls for changes to youthful offender statute to allow protections for those willing to engage in rehabilitation while applying “accountability” for those who don’t; ends expungement of criminal records in favor of “universal sealing”; streamlines extradition to make it more “efficient.”

The legislation would also “redefine” recidivism so it takes into account what works and what doesn’t; rolls out a pretrial DOC supervision program that’s been piloted in Orleans County; develops more “tools” for substance abuse and mental health treatment; and repeals a law that would stop incarcerating intoxicated noncompliant offenders at a correctional facility after July 1.

If that seems like a long list of proposals to be wrapped together in a single piece of legislation, that’s because, according to the Scott administration, Vermonters are feeling less safe.

“The impetus for this omnibus bill is to try and address the most pressing concerns that we’ve heard the from the general public,” Morrison said. “This is the feedback we’re getting.”

The omnibus bill likely was introduced too late into the biennial session for it to come up for a vote this spring. And pieces of it, such as repeal of “Raise the Age” and reform of bail revocation, are being considered separately.

But talking about it — Morrison has done a concerted media push to advance awareness — nonetheless helps the Scott administration set the priorities and frame the debate moving forward.

Morrison grew up in Hanover and graduated from Hanover High School in 1986 — where she was a star soccer player — before going on to George Washington University where she double-majored in journalism and criminal justice. Previously deputy chief of the Burlington Police and police chief in Colchester, Vt., Scott tapped Morrison to become deputy chief of DPS in 2021 and promoted her to lead the department a year later.

Emphasizing that “I don’t do politics,” Morrison’s views appear in sync with most Vermonters.

Asked if Vermont State Police will assist federal law enforcement officers in the apprehension of undocumented migrants, Morrison replied, “we have not been asked nor would we seek that out proactively … the answer’s no.”

But one area Morrison is firm about — she’s spent a career in law enforcement after all — is that the pendulum swung too far away from laws that make people feel safe in their communities.

“We need to help people get connected to the services they need so they do not continually commit crimes,” she said. “And if they won’t do it themselves, we have to hold them accountable for receiving help and desisting in these behaviors. The pendulum has swung so far towards basically a free-for-all of, ‘I’m okay. You’re okay’ that we have to bring it back in the middle, where the safety and good of the collective, of the community, is considered.”

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.