They blame capitalism, and you'll be glad to know that “Burlington didn't defund the police, "the cops just quit and weren't replaced"

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Beege Welborn, HotAir, has an interesting story:

Wait a Minute - Crime Ridden Woke-Butt...Burlington, VT?

Beege Welborn 5:20 PM | September 15, 2025

“The city has changed:” addressing student safety amid series of violent crime incidents

Over the past two years, numerous changes have been made to UVM’s safety system by the Division of Safety and Compliance. 

“Our focus for the last two years has been to reimagine safety and security in the realm of three main areas: teams, tools and technology,” said Michael Schirling, UVM’s chief safety and compliance officer.

These changes in safety precautions have taken place amidst a series of dangerous incidents in the Burlington area in the past few months, including a fatal shooting at Red Square, an attempted murder on Greene Street and groups of youth involved in several assaults.

...“My freshman year, maybe we were just oblivious,” said senior and SGA treasurer Matt Sorensen. “But people didn’t worry about there being shootings randomly or stabbings or [groups of] people attacking you if you walked alone.”

...“There’s never been a time in my lifetime where it’s been more important to be vigilant when you go downtown,” said Schirling, in a Sept. 10 SGA meeting dedicated to student safety. “Especially past dark, especially if you’re out alone: the city has changed.”

News reports with ledes talking about 'groups of young people carrying guns/police asking for help' is also a detriment to a thriving and bustling public square.

Police say groups of young people-- many carrying guns-- are looking for trouble in downtown Burlington. They’re asking the public for help identifying the suspects and solving a string of recent crimes.

Just last month, I would have to assume that local cops have never gotten a handle on the 'groups of young people,' as three teens beat an older fellow to death basically in the shadow of Burlington City Hall.

Man dies after beating by kids near Burlington City Hall

A case of a man viciously attacked by a group of juveniles near Burlington City Hall last week has turned into a homicide, Vermont News First learned this afternoon.

...Burlington Police said it had officers on foot patrol on Church Street about 1:30 p.m. Monday Aug. 11 when they came across the assault in progress with the injured man.

The three juveniles fled on foot and by bicycle, but the officers were able to chase down the suspects, Lt. Mike Henry said.

The three youths, believed to be roughly 14 to 16 years old, are facing proceedings in Vermont Family Court. Those proceedings are confidential and have very limited consequences due to the lack of rehabilitation services for youthful offenders within Vermont.

One suspect carried a gun, and police determined it was displayed while they attacked the victim, Henry reported. He said additional arrests were anticipated.

But wait! Digging around, I found further details:

First, a word from our resident AI: Question asked, “is crime in Burlington, VT increasing?”

AI Overview

Yes, crime is increasing in Burlington, VT, with recent reports highlighting a significant spike in gun violence, including a 300% increase in gunfire, and a 40% rise in aggravated assault as of September 2024, prompting city councilors to call for more police officers. This increase in violent crime downtown follows a period where the city was known for being one of the safest small cities. 

Evidence of increasing crime:

  • Violent Crime: There has been a notable spike in violent crime downtown. 

  • Gun Violence: Gunfire is reported to be up nearly 300% as of September 2024. 

  • Aggravated Assault: Aggravated assault has increased by 40%. 

  • Public Safety Concerns: The increase in crime has led to renewed discussions on public safety and has sparked concerns among city councilors and residents. 

Specific Statistics and Reports: 

  • Gunfire: Reports from September 2024 showed a nearly 300% increase in gunfire.

  • Aggravated Assault: As of September 2024, aggravated assault was up 40%.

  • Overdoses: Overdoses have also risen by 1,000%.

Broader Context:

  • Burlington had previously been ranked among the safest small cities in the nation by many metrics, though this was often paired with a slightly higher rate of property crime, like car break-ins. 

  • The recent increase in violent crime has shifted the focus of public safety discussions in the city, especially with the return of college students. 

And here is the proper woke view, presented in a video Welborn provided:

Here’s another take on the subject, with a different viewpoint — because it’s a properly-written law review article, the author, Emily Lambert, Cornell Law School class of 2024, provides links to reports that support her conclusions and recital of facts – would that our media followed the same practice.

Burlington Vermont: An Example of Police Defunding Gone Wrong

24 Feb 2023                                                                                                (Source)

Burlington, Vermont used to be known as a bustling college town on the edge of Lake Champlain, with minimal safety issues, a beautiful environment, and progressive social efforts. There was crime, like in any city, but most of it was property-related so violence was minimal. Citizens could walk around at night feeling safe, the streets were clean, thehomeless population was well taken care of, and it was known as a great place to live. However, this all changed in June 2020 when the city followed nationwide trends to defund its police force. The intention behind the defunding was good. Though Burlington’s police force was considered more progressive than many places, having already implemented mandates requiring body cameras and removing its ties to a federal program that gives military equipment to police departments; Burlington, like most places, had some trouble with its police force being unjustly prejudiced against people of color and mistreating people with mental illness. So, following the nationwide trend, citizens got together and protested, advocating that the police force be defunded in an attempt to solve this problem. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Instead, defunding the police had other unintended consequences that led to the city falling apart, and solved none of the problems it was designed to address. As a matter of fact, one of the primary problems, the disproportionate percentage of black arrests compared to the percentage of the city’s black population, actually increased from roughly 17% to 21% since defunding the police, though the black population remained at 6.2%.  The percentage of use of force incidents against people of color increased as well.

Since the defunding of Burlington’s police force, homicide and gunfire incidents have increased by 80% and 69% respectively. Property crime has increased by 11%. Litter now lines the streets. Graffiti tags cover buildings and other surfaces even in the busiest, most populated parts of the city. The actions of the homeless population go unchecked and their needs go unsupported. At any given time, the city is only able to send out 5 patrols at a time, which is not nearly enough to keep order. A once safe and beautiful city has become a place that people avoid. How did this happen?

Post defunding, the Burlington police force dropped from 95 to 64 officers, causing a significant decrease in the ability to patrol public spaces to deter crime and to investigate the crimes that do occur. There is next to no deterrent to petty crimes, like littering, graffiti tagging, and minor property theft, because those now go uninvestigated. As for violent crimes, the increase is due to the police’s inability to intervene before the situations escalate. Further, the homeless population has taken over the streets, even in the most populated areas, because there is very limited police enforcement of vagrancy laws due to the situations often being low priority. While this can sometimes be frustrating to the average passerby’s who may get hassled by members of this group, the bigger problem is that the energy of the city changing for the negative has made this already at-risk population even more at-risk. Before, for members of the homeless population, hanging out downtown just meant people watching. Now it provides access to drugs and potential physical conflict. Mental Health providers at the Howard Center, who do outreach with members of this population, have compared it to being at a keg party. There is also less crisis intervention for the mentally ill population, which has led to more fights, drug use,and overdoses.

Unfortunately, these changes led to Burlington having to try to undo the damage by re-funding the police, enticing officers to stay on with bonuses and raising the cap of sworn officers. Despite these efforts, it will likely take years for the city, and other cities that experienced similar results from defunding efforts, to regain the position and reputation of safety and peace that it had before. Not to mention that the defunding failed to addressthe systemic problems present in the police force. While this approach was good natured and had the right purpose at heart – protecting people of color and underserved populations – the experiment failed and read more like a punishment than a solution. While the actions of the police that caused this call for defunding were not in any way right, punishing the police force, even though may feel just, is a poor answer because it results more in a punishment of the citizens than the actual parties guilty of the mistreatment. A better approach to solve these problems is a reform on the accountability of the police. This would include things like individual officers maintaining their own liability insurance; narrowing the scope of qualified immunity; limiting when and to whom police are allowed to lie or mislead; and adding better training to police academy requirements on racial sensitivity, implicit biases, crisis intervention, and youth intervention. All of these policy changes have potential to help with police reform without having the negative consequences that defunding has on the community.  

Here’s an interesting aryticle about a murder committed in Burlington in 2022; both perpetrator and victim have names not traditionally associated with Vermont farmers — no Caleb or Silas here!

A South Burlington man is facing a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly shooting another man Sunday night in a Burlington apartment. He is also under investigation for a fatal shooting that took place three hours later in South Burlington.

The suspect, Denroy Dasent, 52, was taken into custody shortly before midnight following a confrontation with police on Burlington’s waterfront, according to police and charging documents.

During that confrontation, police said, one officer fired a stun gun at Dasent “to no effect,” and another officer fired beanbags at the suspect before he eventually complied with orders and was placed in handcuffs. The arrest followed a brief, high-speed car chase through downtown streets, police said.

Dasent pleaded not guilty late Monday morning to the murder charge in the shooting death of Sheiknoor Osman, who was killed around 8:15 p.m. Sunday in a Pine Street apartment in Burlington, according to court documents made public Monday afternoon.