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Community Based Policing partners residents and other
stakeholders to resolve community problems. The Police
Department uses this model to achieve its goals of creating
a safe, healthy, and self reliant community by working with
residents to find the root cause of the issue and identify
solutions.
By using this approach, Lt. Stubbing comments, “Community Based Policing has created better connections between the Police Department, the community, and other City Departments.”
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Community Based Policing is a model that partners residents and the police department to prevent, intercept and solve crime and community problems. |
The Role of Residents
“We work with residents to prevent and detect crime and ultimately to successfully resolve problems in our City,” comments Lt. Stubbing. She adds that residents are additional “eyes and ears and we need to hear from them.” Whether it is an abandoned car in front of your house, a suspicious person or car, they ask that you call and report it. The Police Department has seen many successful resolutions of crimes because of citizen’s reports.
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Tips on Working with the Police |
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Call when you suspect something unusual or suspicious |
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Be a great witness by providing detailed information about
any suspicious activity like a description of a person,
license plate of a car, time of day and frequency you see
this behavior, etc. |
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| - | Remember that the Department has to sometimes prioritize calls and they ask for your patience if an officer doesn't arrive immediately. | ||
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Officers from the Burlington Police Department attend a block party on King Street. |
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Problem Solving with the Burlington Police
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Motel Brown on Shelburne Road was a problem location that
police were being called to upwards of 30 times a year. The
physical property was not well maintained and while not all
the residents of Motel Brown were a problem. Police were
continually having to respond to this location for a variety
of reasons including drugs, domestic disputes, drugs, and
alcohol related disturbances.
“In the old days before Community Based Policing, we would respond to call after call and continue putting a band aid on the problem. This would last for the night, but would not address the larger issues causing the problem.” says Lieutenant Kathy Stubbing, Lieutenant responsible for the South End of Burlington. In 2003 Lt. Stubbing started to use the Community Based Policing model to address the Motel Brown situation. “Community Based Policing is a team approach to resolving problems in the community” says Stubbing. This collaborative approach brings together all of the stakeholders in a situation. In this case it included: the owner of the Motel, neighbors, City Code Enforcement, Fire Marshall, City Attorney, Police, and the Burlington Neighborhood Project. Neighbors played an important role in making change. Lt. Stubbing notes, “It was the neighbors that got the ball in motion...by partnering with neighbors of the Motel , the problem was resolved.” |
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Lt. Stubbing with a child at a community celebration. Community Based Policing is about the Police Department working with the community to resolve problems and establish relationships. |
To find a longer-term solution, the neighbors around the Motel and residents living at the Motel were surveyed by Police and the Burlington Neighborhood Project. The stakeholders diligently worked to overcome the never ending problems caused at the Motel. The Motel’s owner who decided to sell the business to a new owner committed to addressing the neighbors’ concerns. Renamed the Champlain Inn, the new owner has made significant improvements to the property and the problems at this location have decreased immensely.
“Now we are called to the Motel maybe 5 times a year and that is a tremendous change.” states Lt. Stubbing.
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