Public Safety Committee

City Council - Public Safety Committee Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom When: Aug 28, 2025 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Public Safety Committee Meeting Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android: https://zoom.us/j/95681405418 Phone one-tap: +13017158592,,95681405418# US (Washington DC) +13052241968,,95681405418# US Join via audio: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 305 224 1968 US +1 309 205 3325 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 931 3860 US +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 564 217 2000 US +1 669 444 9171 US +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 689 278 1000 US +1 719 359 4580 US +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 360 209 5623 US +1 386 347 5053 US +1 507 473 4847 US Webinar ID: 956 8140 5418 International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/abStJixMs6 1. Adopt the Agenda 1.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda 2. Adopt Minutes 2.1. Motion to adopt draft minutes from July 24, 2025 3. Public Forum Subject 3.1. Verbal Comments Page 1 of 31  Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 3. Public Forum Department Type 4. Chiefs' Reports Subject 4.1. Chief Curtin - BFD Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 4. Chiefs' Reports Department Type Recommended Action Subject 4.2. Chief Burke - BPD Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 4. Chiefs' Reports Department Type Recommended Action 5. Lacey Smith (Assistant Director of CAIP) and Jeff Nicholson - Data review from the CAIP team Subject 5.1. Lacey Smith (Assistant Director of CAIP) and Jeff Nicholson - Data review from the CAIP team Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 5. Lacey Smith (Assistant Director of CAIP) and Jeff Nicholson - Data review from the CAIP team Department Council and Board Type Recommended Action 6. State's Attorney Data Page 2 of 31  Subject 6.1. State's Attorney Data Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 6. State's Attorney Data Department Council and Board Type Recommended Action 7. Other Committee Business Subject 7.1. Next Meetings 9/25/25, 10/23/25, 11/20/25 Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 7. Other Committee Business Department Council and Board Type Subject 7.2. No December 2025 Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 7. Other Committee Business Department Council and Board Type 8. Adjournment Subject 8.1. Motion to adjourn Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 8. Adjournment Department Council and Board Type Recommended Action 9. Informational and Non-Discrimination Statements Subject 9.1. This agenda is available in alternative formats upon request. For more information on access, call Lori Olberg, Licensing, Voting and Records Coordinator (802-865-7136)(TTY 802-865-7142). Persons with disabilities who require assistance or special arrangements to participate are encouraged to contact 802-865-7000 (voice) or 802-865-7142 (TTY) at least 72 hours in Page 3 of 31  advance so that proper arrangements can be made. The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, HIV positive status, crime victim status or genetic information. Meeting August 28, 2025 - Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda - Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 PM, Queen City Room, 3rd Floor City Hall, 149 Church St OR Remote via Zoom Category 9. Informational and Non-Discrimination Statements Department Council and Board Type Page 4 of 31  Public Safety Committee Thursday, July 24, 2025 Remote via Zoom/In-Person in Champlain Room, 3rd Floor, City Hall, Burlington, Vermont DRAFT MINUTES Members Present: Melo Grant (Chair), Mark Barlow, Buddy Singh Staff Present: Hayley McClenahan (Assistant City Attorney), Michael Curtin (BFD Battalion Chief), Shawn Burke (Police Chief), Lacey Smith (CAIP Assistant Director) Public Present: Allie Schachter (City Councilor), Esther George, Lisa Hardy Meeting called to order at 5:33 PM by Councilor Grant. 1. Adopt the Agenda 1.01 Adopt the Agenda Motion to Adopt Agenda as written. Motion by Councilor Singh, Seconded by Councilor Grant Final Resolution: Motion Passes Yes: Unanimous 2. Adopt Minutes 2.01 Motion to Adopt Draft Minutes from June 26, 2025 Motion to Adopt Agenda as written. Motion by Councilor Singh, Seconded by Councilor Grant Final Resolution: Motion Passes Yes: Unanimous 3. Public Forum 3.01 Verbal Comments No action was taken. Public forum closed at 5:35. 4. Chiefs’ Reports and Department Updates 4.01 BPD Chief Burke presented the latest Police Commission report to the Committee. Assistant Director Smith also provided an update for CAIP. No action taken. Page 1 of 2 Page 5 of 31  4.01 BFD Chief Curtin provided updated data on BFD for June. No action taken. 5. North Beach – Community Safety/Quality of Life Concerns 5.01 North Beach – Community Safety/Quality of Life Concerns The Committee listened to and discussed community perspectives on recent activity at North Beach. No action was taken. 6. Downtown Circle – City Council Presentation 6.01 Downtown Circle – City Council Presentation Link to City Council meeting (City Circle 2:55:10). Councilor Grant discussed the new City Circle initiative. No action was taken. 7. State’s Attorney Data 7.01 State’s Attorney Data Councilor Grant reviewed the latest State’s Attorney’s data. No action was taken. 8. Community Safety Kiosk 8.01 Community Safety Kiosk The Committee discussed with Chief Burke the challenges in staffing a downtown Public Safety kiosk. No action was taken. 9. Other Items and Next Meeting 9.01 Other Items and Next Meeting The Committee set next meeting dates for August 28 and September 25. No action was taken. 10. Adjournment 10.01 Motion to adjourn The meeting was adjourned with no objection at 6:52 PM. Page 2 of 2 Page 6 of 31  BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT 136 S. Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: (802) 864-4554 Fax: (802) 865-5387 Chief’s Report to the Public Safety Committee: July Data Points July 28,2025 Call Volume & Activity Summary Total Incidents for the month of July: 1149 Total Incidents YTD: 6639 (As of 8/1/25) • Fire Incidents: 196 • EMS: 687 • Hazmat: 19 • Service Call/Public Assist: 73 During the same period in 2024, we responded to 1098 incidents, a 4.6% increase from last year. Page 7 of 31  BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT 136 S. Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: (802) 864-4554 Fax: (802) 865-5387 EMS Data: The following charts presents monthly data on EMS-confirmed overdose and drug-related incidents in our community from 2021 through July 31, 2025. It categorizes the top types of substances involved, based on working diagnoses and secondary impressions gathered in the field. •Incidents involving opiate abuse (e.g., heroin, fentanyl) are consistently the highest among all substance types. •The second most frequent category involves other non-opiate illicit drugs or misuse of medications. These are legal medications being used improperly (e.g., anti-anxiety meds, sleep aids, ADHD stimulants) Page 8 of 31 BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT 136 S. Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: (802) 864-4554 Fax: (802) 865-5387 Page 9 of 31  BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT 136 S. Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: (802) 864-4554 Fax: (802) 865-5387 CRT Data for July2025: Staffed 9 days for the month of July Total Contacts Narcan Kits Wound Care Comfort Care Referrals Kits Kit 55 4 4 4 1 Personnel & Staffing Total Department Staff: Uniformed Members 88 / Authorized 95 • Minimum Daily Staffing: 22 • Vacancies: 8 • Injuries/LOA/FMLA: 3 Overtime Type 2025 Hours 2024 Hours %+- Minimum Staffing 662.5 574.75 + 15.2 Mandatory 48 75.5 - 36.4 CRT 157 115 + 36.5 Emergency 16 13.25 + 20.7 Extra Duty Events 31 154 - 79.8 Combined lateral and entry level application process that closed 8/15. Currently have 10 applications for the lateral position and 35 for the entry level position. Phone Interviews begin this week. Community Engagement • ACE Hardware Grand-Reopening Ladder 4 and Ambulance 4 attended • I also wanted to share something meaningful that speaks directly to the power of community engagement. My wife received a text message from retired Police Lt. Emmet Helrich, who lives in the South End: “So today was the Babe Ruth summer ball finale. Fall ball starts up in a couple weeks. Anywho…game was at Callahan. FD was on a run at Locust and Pine. After their biz they came up Locust, got out of their rig, sat down on the grassy hill and watched the final inning. We won 11–7. Anyway, tell your boyfriend that everyone noticed the FF’s on the hill. To me, that is the epitome of community. Kristin was sitting up on the hill too. I love that stuff. Kristin says the FF’rs also engaged in a very pleasant way with some of the viewers, hill sitters etc. Good stuff Jules.” Page 10 of 31  BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT 136 S. Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: (802) 864-4554 Fax: (802) 865-5387 • Social Media: Page 11 of 31 August 22nd, 2025 Chief’s Report – Burlington Police Commission Operations: The department has continued to maintain strong focus on the downtown area as City Hall Park and the areas directly adjacent have been persistently challenging – open drug use, mental health crisis, and other disorder. The community has been very receptive to the department’s efforts but the underlying cause of much of the disorder remains to be individuals with unmet social service needs who are treatment or service resistant - enforcement alone will not be effective. During a recent town hall meeting with the business community there was sharp criticism of the public safety strategy citing that although officer presence has increased, little is being done toward enforcing laws and ordinances. It is important to recognize that Community Service Officers (CSOs) are part of the downtown public safety strategy. CSOs can enforce City ordinance violations but lack the authority to detain and identify individuals who are non-compliant. CSOs do not have the authority to enforce State statutes. The CSOs are a vital part of our team but this limitation highlights the Page 12 of 31 need for additional sworn officers. Burlington PD arrest data in the downtown patrol district is reflected here: The Situation Table has continued the work of coordinating service providers to intersect with those at acute elevated risk. To date the Table has addressed 12 “situations” which has proven effective in terms of short term intervention. The data team will be drilling down on the outcomes to better understand how the Table’s work is affecting at risk community members in the longer term, e.g. is there a reduction in their reliance on Burlington public safety resources. Ideally, the work of the table in concert with our deterrence and enforcement efforts will aid in reestablishing the behavioral norms of downtown. High Profile Incidents: Detectives are actively investigating two high profile crimes which occurred in the downtown patrol area. The first being an assault of a male subject who later died. This investigation remains active and in partnership with the Chittenden County State Attorney’s Office. The involved persons were known to one another and party to a dispute – there is no greater risk posed to the community. The second incident involved a fight outside of a downtown nightclub. A subject involved in a large fight produced a firearm, struck another combatant in the head with it before firing in the Page 13 of 31 air. Detectives are working with multiple witnesses and sources of video evidence to identify the subject who was responsible for the assault and discharge of the firearm. Personnel: Since June 1st, 2025, the department has received 22 applications for the position of police officer — an encouraging sign of interest in joining the Burlington Police Department. The Training and Recruitment Team has been especially active this summer, attending in- person recruiting events at Lake Monsters games and, starting today, at the Champlain Valley Fair. Behind the scenes, Shannon has been leading our efforts to enhance the department’s social media presence. Her work is coming together well as we focus on reaching our goal of hiring four recruits for the February academy class. Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with two local men who expressed interest in joining the department. I spent time with each of them, provided an overview of our work, gave them a tour of the facility, and coordinated upcoming ride-alongs with our team. This kind of proactive, personalized recruitment is exactly what we need to move forward, we can no longer afford to wait passively for applicants to come to us. Lastly, our recruit officer is performing well at the Vermont Police Academy and remains on track to complete the academy phase of their career in November 2025. Policy / Direction - The department is working on the following initiatives: • Written guidance as to incidents Street Outreach and Community Support Liaisons (CSLs) will be the primary responders to. • Launching a web based policy management software application. • Continued improvements to the Police Department web site. • Leveraging data when making operational and fiscal decisions. • Policy development to bring the department into full compliance with state models / mandates. Page 14 of 31 Community Safety Media Briefing AUGUST 27, 2025 Page 15 of 31  Year One – Accomplishments •Community Engagement • Meetings with numerous stakeholder groups • Public Forums on Community Safety •Systems Assessment & Investments • Identify gaps within community safety response system • Elevate victims' services work and ensure better coordination with BPD •Strategic health & safety investments in FY25 budget • Creation of new safety positions at the Library; Senior advisor on community safety • Additional funding for police recruitment and fire operations •Data-Driven Strategies • Implement Hot Spots strategy, addressing concentrated harmful activity •Infrastructure & Leadership Support • Secure voter approval of capital bonds to invest in public safety fleet and facilities • Prioritize stability for BPD and BFD, and engage nationally recognized firm to facilitate search for next Chief of Police Page 16 of 31  Year Two – Active Work •More Effective Use of Police Department Staff • Increasing Foot Patrols & Directed Patrols based on data •Continued Systems Improvements • Better working relationship with the State's Attorney • Finalized MOU between BPD and Burlington School District •New Initiatives for Case Coordination & Accountability • Situation Table • City Circles • Engaging regional partners to coordinate response to drug trafficking and enforcement • Strategic Investments in FY26 • Increased City investment in Howard Street Outreach • Funding to hire eight sworn officers •Continue Advancing Key Projects • New Public Safety Building • Overdose Prevention Center Implementation •Continued Cross Dept. Coordination to Address Homelessness Page 17 of 31 Year Three – Looking Ahead •Continued Assessment of Best Practices • Local and regional partnerships for systems of accountability • Consultation with peer cities on effective response systems •Implement Integrated Public Health & Safety Response citywide •Open Overdose Prevention Center •Finalize planning for Public Health & Safety Building •Continue to evaluate data related to new initiatives assessing success, and adapting as needed Page 18 of 31 Data Citywide Incidents & Arrests Page 19 of 31  Top BPD Incidents 2025 & 2021-2024 Average Data through August 15 for 2025 and ‘21-’24 average. Page 20 of 31  Top BPD Arrests 2025 & 2021-2024 Average Data through August 15 for 2025 and ‘21-’24 average. Page 21 of 31  Proactive Incidents Proactive incidents are things like Foot Patrols, Outreach, Traffic Stops, etc. Data through 8/15/2025, with projections through the remainder of 2025 Page 22 of 31 Downtown Activity & Incident Maps Page 23 of 31  Downtown Arrests, 2020 - 2025 Data through 8/15/2025, with projections for remainder of August Page 24 of 31  Day Shift Activity, 2025 Calls for Service Officer Initiated Incidents 6:00 am – 5:59 pm Data through 8/15/2025 Page 25 of 31 Day Shift Activity, 2025 Incidents 6:00 am – 5:59 pm Data through 8/15/2025 Page 26 of 31  Night Shift Activity, 2025 Calls for Service Officer Initiated Incidents 6:00 pm – 5:59 am Data through 8/15/2025 Page 27 of 31 Night Shift Activity, 2025 Incidents 6:00 pm – 5:59 am Data through 8/15/2025 Page 28 of 31 Page 29 of 31 Page 30 of 31 Page 31 of 31