Bennington County

Bennington County follows Vermont law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

After an arrest, the officer must call a judicial officer, a Superior Court judge or a court clerk, to set temporary release. For charges carrying less than two years, a person the Court Administrator designates may also set bail.

13 V.S.A. 7554(f) and 7559a

Time to see a judge

The rules say an arrested person must be brought before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay, and set no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.

V.R.Cr.P. 3(k)

Money bail

Money bail is allowed. Since 2018, a court may not set bail at first appearance for a cited misdemeanor, and may set at most $200 for a misdemeanor eligible for expungement.

13 V.S.A. 7551(b)

Courts

Vermont has one trial court, the Superior Court, with a unit in each county. Its criminal division hears all crimes, felonies and misdemeanors alike. The Judicial Bureau hears civil violations, not crimes.

Vermont Judiciary, About the Vermont Judiciary

Judges and magistrates

The governor appoints judges, and the state Senate confirms them, for six-year terms. At the end of each term, the General Assembly votes on whether the judge stays.

Vt. Const. ch. II, s. 32 and 34

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The state constitution says state's attorney districts are set by law; that each county is one district was not read in the statute. Whether clerks or designees who set bail must be lawyers was not confirmed.

Pretrial practice

Mapping Pretrial Injustice listed its risk tool in 2021 as the Ohio Risk Assessment System Pretrial Assessment Tool (ORAS-PAT).

MediaJustice and Movement Alliance Project, Mapping Pretrial Injustice county map (data as of fall 2021)

From Mapping Pretrial Injustice, a map compiled by MediaJustice and the Movement Alliance Project, advocacy groups that campaign against pretrial risk assessment tools. Its data is from fall 2021; CrimeDB uses it only where no court, government, or research list covers the county.

• Bennington town15,249
• Manchester town4,486
• Shaftsbury town3,607
• Pownal town3,265
• Arlington town2,598
• Dorset town2,092
• North Bennington village1,336
• Sunderland town1,269
• Stamford town963
• Readsboro town807
• Winhall town752
• Manchester village676
• Rupert town676
• Sandgate town435
• Peru town434
• Woodford town282
• Landgrove town225
• Old Bennington village182
• Searsburg town129

Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Bennington County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.

• State Police: ShaftsburyState police agency15,981 served
• Bennington Police DepartmentCity police department15,075 served
• Manchester Police DepartmentCity police department4,458 served
• Winhall Police DepartmentCity police department1,159 served
• No name VT0020500City police department766 served
• No name VT0020200City police department132 served
• Bennington County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.