PITTSFORD, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont Criminal Justice Council, which is responsible for what kind of training the state’s police officers receive, is working to overhaul the curriculum for recruits at the Police Academy. It comes following a report that some officers are not getting all the training they need.
“As the demands on law enforcement — and what we’re looking for from law enforcement change — our training should change,” said Vt. Criminal Justice Council Chair Bill Sorrell.
Within a 25-page report presented by the Idaho-based International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training is a survey of the more than 1,400 certified police officers in Vermont. However, the group only heard back from 352 officers about the tasks they undertake on the job.
“The reality is there is in most states there’s a large rural law enforcement population and you need to serve that as well as the major jurisdictions, so we will develop a curriculum that serves all those needs,” said IADLEST’s Brian Grisham.
Among the major findings in the report — inadequate training standards for level 2 certified officers. The report states level two officers receive more than 600 training hours less than full-time level 3 officers. They recommend increasing the level 2 training standards.
“This internationally recognized organization makes the finding that in certain respects our current training is not legally defensible. We need to do a lot more ‘I’s’ and cross a lot more ‘T’s,’” Sorrell said.
The report comes at a time when the council is already undergoing changes. Former executive director Heather Simons resigned amid a clash with some law enforcement over the vision for the future of policing in the state. “When the system’s not ready for what I need to do, then those decisions come quickly for people like me,” Simons said.
Law enforcement officials we spoke to say that ultimately any changes made directly impact the communities officers serve. “The work that IADLEST is doing does bring us up to a 50,000-foot view — work that the academy staff and law enforcement associations are working on as partners. We’re looking to target what’s best for the community with multiple lenses,” Windham County Sheriff Mark Anderson.
The Criminal Justice Council expects the new curriculum to be written by December 2026 with pilot rollouts starting in January 2027.