State police note lapse in hate crime reporting

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) - Vermont State Police says they need to do a better job of reporting hate crimes.

WCAX-TV reports Vermont law enforcement agencies voluntarily reported 34 hate crimes in 2017. Vermont State Police initially reported zero.

Vermont State Police Lt. Garry Scott now says five or six incidents state police investigated that year should have been labled as having a bias motivation.

Scott says police previously wouldn’t classify an incident as a hate or bias crime without knowing the motive.

He says state police plans to improve coding and review the coding process.

Scott says state police also plans to focus on outreach, so Vermont residents feel comfortable reaching out for help.

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Information from: WCAX-TV, http://www.wcax.com