Vermont's Largest City Rejects Adding Police Officers

The council did approve the Burlington Police Commission's request to hire two community service liaisons, but denied the proposal to the number of sworn city police officers

Published August 10, 2021 • Updated on August 10, 2021 at 4:59 pm

The Burlington City Council has again rejected a proposal to raise the cap on the number of sworn city police officers that was imposed earlier this year.

Early Tuesday, the council did approve the Burlington Police Commission's request to hire two community service liaisons.

Last year, the panel voted to cap the number of officers at 74 and to allocate resources elsewhere.

The Burlington Police Commission last week recommended raising the cap to 82 following recent crime in the city and concerns about staff shortages overnight.