About the Department

 The Burlington Police Department was commissioned in 1865 to provide law enforcement services to the Queen City. Throughout our history, the men and women of the department have proudly served their community. We currently serve a residential community of over 40,000, in addition to thousands of students from local colleges and the University of Vermont. The Department has an authorized strength of 87 full-time police officers and currently have 64.

Currently BPD is undergoing a rebuild process by implementing new practices and establishing a revised priority response plan. For example, we’ve moved some calls for service away from police to unarmed, unsworn Community Service Officers (CSOs); and we’ve developed an in-house social-work capability in the form of the Community Support Liaisons (CSLs).

The rebuilding process is comprised of 3 steps: 

• Bargaining: retaining officers with a competitive contract

• Recruiting: attracting new recruits and lateral officers with strong hiring incentives

• Marketing: communicating about innovations and what sets Burlington apart

*Visit https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/ for more detailed information on REBUILDING. ​

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