Ben & Jerry’s Urged Its Hometown To Slash Police Force, So Businesses Launched Their Own Safety Program

Businesses in Burlington, Vermont have launched a safety escort program for women and anyone else who feels unsafe downtown since the city’s police force was slashed, causing crime to tick upwards.

Burlington cut its police department by 30% in July last year, just days after ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s, which was founded in Burlington, issued a call to “defund the police.”