BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Do all law enforcement officers have to wear a badge and carry a gun? Faced with staffing crises at police departments statewide, it’s a question the Vermont Law Enforcement Advisory Board is working to answer.
The board in a recent report identified 54 sworn officers at five regulatory state agencies responsible for a wide array of civil and criminal investigations. Among the findings is the attractiveness of these positions for officers when it comes to salary, hours, and working conditions.
“The ask is, if you have a vacancy coming up, please do some kind of analysis to say how many criminal investigators do we need, how many sworn officers do we need, or could civilians also do this work?” said South Burlington Police Chief Shawn Burke, who sits on the board.
Among the agencies listed is the Office of Professional Regulation, which has five sworn officers. The office’s Lauren Hibbert says having officers with prior experience on the front lines is crucial to their work. “We need to make sure that we’re following the law, that people have due process in the investigation process. And we can only do that if we have certified law enforcement that are kept abreast of changes in the law,” she said.
The Department of Motor Vehicles employs both civilian investigators and uniformed police officers. The sworn officers respond to calls, issue tickets, and are also responsible for making sure large trucks and other vehicles are in compliance with state law. They say to pull sworn officer positions away would be a disservice to Vermonters.
“If you’re a civilian, you can’t pull vehicles over, you can’t issue tickets. Nobody does our job except for us,” said the DMV’s Capt. Gene Cote.
Chief Burke says as policing evolves, creative approaches to rebuilding the workforce will be a benefit in the end. “We’re going to have some really bright — maybe a little young in terms of experience — but they’ll grow into these roles and they’ll start leaving their fingerprint on this profession, and I think generationally that’s super important,” he said.
The next step is for the Legislature to take testimony and review the findings in the report before any changes are made.