By Michael Bielawski
According to the year-end Burlington Police Department report, while progress was made in 2023 towards replenishing their ranks after a 2020 defunding, it has largely been lost in 2024.
“Since July 01, 2020, staffing has fallen by nearly 30 sworn officers,” the report states. “During that time, incident volume has risen.”
The department will start the year with 63 officers, down from 92 which is how many they had in 2020 just after the City Council voted to reduce the force by about a third via attrition.
“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 strong police contract was ratified in July 2022 that headcount stabilized. Since then, the BPD has worked to rebuild, but after significant success in 2023, the BPD lost progress and rolled back in 2024.”
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