The Williston Police Department is severely understaffed and seemingly plagued with “instability and turnover of leadership” that has left it “stuck in neutral” for the past 14 years, according to a new study.
Police department staffing has not kept pace with one of the fastest-growing communities in the state, says the 32-page report commissioned by the Selectboard and prepared by consultant Jim Baker, a former police chief, former interim corrections commissioner and former member of the executive staff of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Among his recommendations are increasing the 10,000-person town’s police force, which currently employs 15 sworn officers out of an allotted 17, by 11 more officers, in addition to other new support staff.
Baker presented the report, first reported on by the Williston Observer, to the board earlier this month. Selectboard chair Ted Kenney said board members plan to discuss the recommendations and solicit feedback at upcoming selectboard meetings.
A major challenge, Baker said, is the frequency and handling of retail theft arrests — which he said more than doubled from 54 in 2021 to 135 in 2022 — from the shopping corridor in the Chittenden County town. But the current police response is often “robotic” with “no strategy,” which leads to staff fatigue, and understaffing adds to the frustration, Baker said.
In addition to the 15 sworn officers, the current police staff includes four civilians (one clerk and three dispatchers), one director for the Community Justice Center, and one restorative justice specialist position, which is vacant but is being covered by two temporary staff, according to city officials. Two sworn officer positions are vacant.
The police department, which had 10 officers in 2002, was authorized for 17 in 2009, according to the report. However, it has achieved that level of staffing only twice, said Terry Macaig, a selectboard member, partly because of turnover, and partly for a lack of applicants.
“The current staffing, structure and scope does not provide an adequate level of community safety,” Baker’s report says.
At a Selectboard meeting on Nov. 7, he recommended the town manager embark on a five-year plan to add 11 more sworn members, in addition to two more non-sworn support staff and “expanding … the social worker relationship.”
Baker said the department needs to look to current and future needs.
“I’m not always convinced that money is the answer why people jump around,” he said. “The targeted population that you should be recruiting right now has a whole different look on what they want — quality of life and their worths. They want to feel like they are part of something bigger than them, that they are part of a team that’s making a difference.”
That means creating opportunities for officers to do more than, say, go to Home Depot and process someone for shoplifting, Baker said, such as creating pathways for them to one day become chief.
He also suggested locating the restorative justice center and the social worker outreach team together, and closer to the Taft Corners shopping area, “where the action is.” He suggested adding a criminal investigator in the department to better manage shoplifting incidents, leveraging more restorative practices, and establishing a committee to examine hiring and retention.
“The report talks about certain problems — there is really no good chance of advancement within the department,” Macaig said, and the board intends to discuss restructuring, recruitment, retainment and advancement in the near future.
Town Manager Erik Wells told VTDigger he agrees with the findings on where future planning should focus and believes the department can be a model for the state in 21st-century policing and community service.
“Co-production of public safety and working to establish the community outreach unit are critical elements to achieve the holistic vision that Jim outlined in his report,” Wells said in an email. “I anticipate these will be key areas for the town to lean into in the short term as the selectboard evaluates future expansion of resources within the department.”
Kenney’s initial response to the report was favorable. The recommendations don’t just say to hire more officers, he said; rather, the study considers the structure, focus and future of the department.
“I’m particularly intrigued with the concept of placing an office for the police department and the (Community Justice Center) in the Taft Corners area so there is no delay in offering restorative alternatives to the criminal process in appropriate cases. The report’s description of ‘co-production’ of public safety sounds like reform that could get results,” Kenney said in an email.
The police department has two vacant positions right now and Wells estimated two to four retirements could be coming in the next five years.
Baker also pointed out that Foley, the longtime chief, could leave in the near future, which could lead to instability in the department. And Lt. Joshua Moore, second in command at the police department, resigned as of Oct. 12, according to documents obtained by VTDigger.
Moore had been on paid administrative leave since June 20, according to a redacted letter obtained by VTDigger via public records requests. Neither the redacted letter nor town officials gave any reason why he was suspended from service this year.
“As a general practice, the Town does not discuss any of its personnel,” Wells stated in an email on July 10.
