By Michael Bielawski
The Burlington City Council has approved a public safety hub located somewhere yet-to-be-determined downtown.
The resolution states, “The City Council acknowledges that Burlington faces an urgent public safety emergency and substance misuse crisis and that the establishment of a public safety kiosk or hub downtown will allow us to directly deploy necessary resources to our downtown.”
The main police station is on North Avenue, adjacent to Battery Park – many blocks distant from downtown. The previous police station was located just a block from Church Street, where City Market is now.
The city has seen a dramatic uptick in crimes over recent years since the City Council in June of 2020 voted to deplete the police force via attrition by about a third. Even though a new council has since voted to approve new hiring, the department continues to struggle to get new recruits.
The resolution indicates that public sentiment has not been great regarding the safety of downtown recently. Its states that they wish “to deter criminal activity and restore public trust in the safety of our downtown through visibility and rapid resource deployment.”
It continues about the sense of urgency to get rising crime trends reversed. And there will be public engagement.
“The Public Safety Committee shall engage the community on its vision for a public safety hub or kiosk, and this engagement shall include consultation with interested community partners,” it says.
There will be some public money involved. It says, “the Mayor’s Administration may seek the support of professional consultant services to assist in the preparation of the report required by this resolution, and the cost of these services shall not exceed $30,000, or the Administration may reserve said funds and an additional $20,000 for a total of $50,000 in assigned FY25 monies for costs associated with establishing the downtown public safety hub or kiosk.”
It further states, “the City will start to prioritize applications and sources for funding sources necessary to support this project.”
Ban guns in bars?
There were other public safety related resolutions passed by the Council, including one to ban guns in bars. A Seven Days report from August says that this has been tried before but it failed to be implemented.
The article states, “It is legal to carry a concealed gun in bars in Vermont, though business owners can choose to prohibit them on their property. The City of Burlington passed a charter change in 2014 that would ban guns in establishments with liquor licenses, but state leaders never approved it.”
Gun-free zones continue to be controversial since those with criminal intent may not be discouraged by these laws. A report by the Crime Prevention Resource Center indicates that 94% of gun attacks from 1950 to 2018 occurred in gun-free zones.
Violent gangs roaming the streets?
VDC has been informed recently about wild groups of youth, some of them armed, who have been harassing people around Burlington over the summer. WCAX has also reported on the trend.
“Police say groups of young people– many carrying guns– are looking for trouble in downtown Burlington,” they wrote in August. It continues, “They’re asking the public for help identifying the suspects and solving a string of recent crimes.”
The police have released a video of some violent incidents, it can be seen here. The first instance is a vicious physical assault right in front of a popular food establishment. Police hope that folks who watch these videos can help them identify suspects.
A BPD press release from August talked about these groups. It stated, “These crimes have been associated with large groups of suspects and perpetrators, some of whom have been identified as juveniles. Many of the involved persons have been shown to carry firearms…” It continues that some in these videos are suspects in other crimes.
Impact elections?
The Vermont GOP has weighed in on the ongoing crime situation in Burlington, essentially blaming the Democrats and Progressives who control the City Council.
The State GOP put out a statement saying, “This is the fundamental problem with the Progressive approach, they are unable and unwilling to admit their mistakes even when people are dying because of their foolishness. How hard is it to say that it was the wrong move to defund the police back in 2020?”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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