MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Legislature is considering a bill that would require all of the state's law enforcement agencies to adopt "bias-free policing" policies to ensure racial minorities are treated fairly.
The House Judiciary Committee is going to take testimony Tuesday on whether minorities are treated differently in the state that the state's white majority.
About 10.3% of Vermont inmates are minorities, about 10 times the state's minority population. That percentage has grown steadily since 1993, far outpacing the growth of non-minority populations.
Last week the Vermont State Police released a study that found a small, but statistically significant difference that found minorities were more likely to be stopped and ticketed than non-minorities.
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