VERMONT'S POLICE DEPARTMENTS 411

1) The Vermont law enforcement was primarily county, based prior to the establishment of a Department of Public Safety. Each county had an elected sheriff who was responsible for enforcing all laws to towns in the county that did not have their own police departments. Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Patrol, provided statewide law enforcement services. Members were responsible for patrolling the state’s roadways on motorcycles and enforcing motor vehicle laws.
The movement of a Department of Public Safety in the state of Vermont began in 1935 through a special committee that was formed to study the possibility of a statewide police system. After continuous studies were performed by the committee, results were positive and support from the community began to expand. The first bill was introduced to establish a Department of Public Safety in the 1937 Legislature. However, it was later concluded that it was not the correct decision to be made. It was assumed that the defeat of this original proposal was a result of lobbying by the sheriffs who perceived a loss of power.

2) In earlier days when the Vermont State Police Department was formed, most departments used motorcycles to patrol. The motorcycles weren’t powerful and fast like those we see today, but were more like bicycles with a motor. In this day and age, Vermont police use different types of cars and motorcycles to better secure the area. With the vehicles used now, an officer could cover more ground, therefore making up time when having to get to a location that is far away from where the officer is at. Going back to the earlier days, not many people had cars that could go fast like cars do nowadays, so a high speed chase wouldn’t be a problem that an officer from that time would encounter. The problem he would encounter would be when getting a call of an emergency from a distant location. If someone was calling to where they felt they were being robbed, a cop from the present would make it there faster than an officer in the earlier days, therefore being able to stop the crime quicker. Also another problem that an officer would encounter is transporting criminals. Cops have cars with a guard between the driver seat and the backseat where the criminal is held. This guard protects the officer from a violent attack from the criminal. Many good things have come with the purchasing of police vehicles but the downside to it is that cars do need repairs. But in the state of Vermont, many police departments have garages that are equipped with lifts and tools to repair cars, or have a mechanic come in and fix. This is good because an officer won’t have to wait on his car to be fixed at a shop and he can check on it every day.

The above is an example of the history of the police department in Vermont. The story below is another example of the history of the police department in Vermont , if the above did not depict enough info.

It was only seven years ago when a man named Anthony Barreto-Neto started to work for Hardwick Municipal Police Department in Northern Vermont. After a short time working for HMPD a few town officials were doing a research on Anthony and found out that on a website Anthony Barreto-Neto was a transsexual. Once this information was found out town officials presumed his inability to due his job as a police officer. Once the word got out about Barreto-Neto he was harassed at work. It got to the point were it became so cruel and unlawful that Barreto-Neto terminated himself from his job. That was when the Town of Hardwick settled a claim.

According to Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (2001) “The settlement included a monetary payment to Barreto-Neto and a requirement that the town adopt a formal policy of nondiscrimination against transgender persons and train its employees on transgender issues. Importantly, the Attorney General’s ruling established for the first time in Vermont that transgender persons are protected under the State’s anti-discrimination laws”

Even though 2001 was not that long ago I think that many officers like Barreto-Neto were abused emotionally and physically, and they did not have the courage to step to the plate because they were afraid. Times still have not change since then but since the formal policy of nondiscrimination against transgender persons was adopted we feel that if a person was transgender they would encounter some of the problems that Anthony had, but they won’t be as extreme as they were in 2001. For this simple reason is why America is trying to establish laws for transgender and for others like them so they can feel protected and safe from others who feel different.

BURLINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

MISSION:

“The police of Burlington Police Department are committed to policing with the citizens of Burlington to achieve a safe, healthy and self reliant community.”

VALUES:

INTEGRITY - We adhere to the highest ethical standards, assuring the community that their public trust is well founded.

SERVICE - We provide the highest level of service and protection to all people in a competent, courteous manner, tempered with compassion and understanding.

RESPECT - We treat all persons with dignity and respect by promoting equality and fairness both inside and outside the Department.

CREATIVITY - We engage in problem-solving as our primary strategy, involving the community in identification of the problems, the best solutions and their implementation.

Burlington Police Department addresses a community challenge, revising training. Every police officer must establish training standards by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council in order to maintain certification. The core values of the training unit are loyalty, honor, respect, team work, attention to detail, adaptability, courage, leadership, and professionalism. These values help the officers to do what is legally and morally right and to develop mental, moral and physical strength in order to handle situations in a just manner. They believe that by developing a challenging and empowering environment that promotes discipline, respect, team work, and fitness will enable them to create a well trained Vermont police officer. They described fitness as being a term that reflects the mind and the body. Their mission is to sharpen the intellect while conditioning the body for health.

Burlington Police work to prevent the abuse of drugs and alcohol and to prevent family violence. From their website: www.bpdvt.org/ you will be able to find many sources about safety tips, a survival guide for off campus living students, robbery safety information, identity theft information, etc. They make it easy for people who are reaching out for help to get the proper assistance that they need.

STATISTICS IN VERMONT:

The number of agencies for law enforcement in Vermont is 49, the number of personnel is 786, and the number per resident is 126. The number of sworn personnel is 616 and the number per 100,000 residents is 99. The number of agencies for sheriff’s offices is 14, the number of personnel is 187, and the number per 100,000 residents is 30. The number for sworn personal is 132 and the number of sworn personnel per 100,000 residents is 21. The number of fulltime employees for Vermont’s state law enforcement is 545, and the number per 100,000 residents is 88. The sworn employee’s number is 325 and the number of sworn employees per 100,000 residents is 52. I do not feel that Vermont has an adequate number of sworn officers. Vermont’s non-sworn officers have little power in the ability to arrest a citizen where as the few sworn cops may be providing service to a serious situation. There are numerous non-sworn officers but few sworn officers to support the criminal activities that occur on a daily basis. The number of sworn officers are sometimes proficient in the their efforts to uphold the law, yet those numbers aren’t always enough to produce the necessary protection for the state of Vermont.

RESOURCES

Hardwick Logo. [Online Image] Available http://www.nek4u.net/, September 26, 2009

Attorney General William H.Sorrell [Online image] Avaiable http://www.atg.state.vt.us/, September 26, 2009

Highway Patrol [Online Image] Available http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/

History of the Police Department (2009).Retrieved September 25, 2009, from Vermont State Police: Department of Public Safety Web site: http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/history.htm

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. (2009) Barreto-Neto v. Town of Hardwick Police Department. Retroeved September 24, 2009, from GLAD Web site: http://www.glad.org/work/cases/barreto-neto-v-town-of-hardwick-police-department/