By Michael Bielawski,
The outgoing police chief Jon Murad leaves as the department continues to struggle to maintain adequate officer levels since their defunding via attrition back in June of 2020. The latest data indicates that some recent momentum in recruitment efforts during 2023 did not carry over into 2024.
The November Chief’s Report notes that the City Council changed the BPD’s authorized officer headcount from 105 to 74. It repeats the familiar narrative.
“An officer exodus ensued” the report states. “In Oct 2021, the council raised the cap from 74 to 87, but it was not until a new, strong police contract was ratified in July 2022 that headcount stabilized. We are now working to rebuild, but unfortunately the progress we achieved in 2023 has not extended into 2024.”
Two more officers to be unavailable
While there are 65 sworn officers, only 60 are readily available for deployment. The report explains, “Total headcount has dropped, and while effective [headcount] is slightly up, we will lose at least two more officers by the end of 2024.”
Officers are dealing with more incidents despite having fewer officers.
“Incidents in 2024 are down 3% compared to 2023. But BPD is still addressing 6% more incidents than in 2019, with 50% fewer non-supervisory patrol officers. As a result, of the 26,723 incidents in 2024 so far, 3,557 have been “stacked”—i.e., 13%. And 1,397 began as online reports, or 5%,” the report states.
Some categories of crimes that are up this year as of November 15 include aggravated assaults up to 78 from 52 at this point last year. Non-fatal drug overdoses are at a high of 550 compared to 398 at this point last year. Robberies are another category that is up, with 24 compared to 19 last year.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police
Murad attended the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Boston to stay current on the latest national policing trends. He was accompanied by nine BPD staff.
“The International Association of Chiefs of Police, or IACP, Annual Conference and Exposition is the largest and most important law enforcement event of the year—more than 16,000 public safety professionals come to learn new techniques, advance their knowledge and careers, and equip their departments for ongoing success,” the report states.
Public frustrated
Some folks have expressed frustration on social media about the ongoing high crime levels in the Queen City.
@Jessica_4_Trump wrote on X, “JUST IN: Burlington, Vermont, a far-left town on the east coast, is now calling for more police officers and admitting they made a mistake in 2020 when they removed over 30 officers in the budget after the George Floyd incident. They also declared racism a public health.”
The comment has over 700,000 views. It continues, “Initially, they had funding for 105 officers but lowered it to 74. Now, they only have 68 officers and are struggling to recruit. The homeless and criminals are destroying the town. Assault is up 40% and gun crime is up 300%.”
Drills with students
Lately, police staff have been interacting with local schools regarding safety drills. The report states, “This month, Community Support Liaison Caty Mara presented Edmunds Elementary School with a Good Job! certificate. The certificate was presented in recognition of the students’ impressive listening skills and how well they conducted themselves during the safety drill.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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