In a statement to Vermont media, Acting U.S. Attorney for Vermont Jonathan A. Ophardt has voiced deep concern over the increase in violent crime and the decrease in law enforcement capacity in the state.
Instances of violent crime in Vermont have risen in the past decade, the top federal prosecutor said Friday. Between 2009 and 2019, violent crime in the state rose from 134.6 offenses per 100,000 people per year to 202.2 offenses per 100,000 people per year, according to FBI data.
But as concerned as Ophardt is about an increase in violent crime, he said even more disconcerting is the struggle to hire and retain officers at all levels of law enforcement in the state — from local police to state police to county sheriff’s departments.
“The number of officers capable of responding to this rise in violent crime is decreasing swiftly,” he wrote, citing a 14% overall reduction in officers between 2018 and 2021.
According to a report cited by Ophardt, the number of full-time police will fall below 700 officers by Jan. 1, a reduction of more than 125 officers throughout the state. The report, produced by Jennifer Morrison, executive director of policy development for the state Department of Public Safety, said that 159 officers are set to leave their jobs in 2021, but only 23 are expected to graduate from the Vermont Police Academy.
“The ramifications for Vermont’s future are troubling,” he wrote.
Laying out his case for why decreasing law enforcement resources should be an area of concern for Vermonters, Ophardt referenced two instances of repeat offenders committing violent crime, a shift to private security and a slimmed down investigative capacity.
Recently, the Grand Isle County courthouse had to shrink its hours to just two days a week because the county sheriff’s department could no longer provide a full time security staff, VTDigger reported Thursday.
Ophardt urged Vermonters to support the state’s police forces at all levels, although he did not offer specific recommendations for how to do so.
“While we debate how policing must change, we must also recognize the continuing need for high-quality law enforcement officers, encourage good men and women to join their ranks, and support those who serve honorably in a profession that requires great commitment and sacrifice,” he wrote.
But the ACLU of Vermont’s advocacy director, responding to Ophardt’s call, said there is already too much policing in the state.
“We know Vermonters are over-policed, especially in our communities of color,” Falko Schilling said in a statement, referencing a University of Vermont study that claims traffic stops in the state were three times the national average between 2015 and 2019.
“We must not uphold the status quo by investing in over-policing our communities, while real alternatives that reduce harm and violence, like medical and mental health care, schools, housing, employment, and social services, remain woefully underfunded,” he said. “It’s time we reduce the footprint of law enforcement and reimagine what public safety looks like in Vermont.”
