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.”
The “defund the police” movement “offers the best opportunity in generations to completely transform our model of policing and create stronger, safer communities where Black Americans and people of color can finally experience and celebrate true freedom,” Ben & Jerry’s said in a statement in June, 2020.
“Let’s dismantle the old system and build a new one that guarantees freedom and justice for all,” Ben & Jerry’s said.
Less than two weeks later on July 1, the City Council passed a $78 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2021, which included a mandate to cut the Burlington Police Department by 30%. The budget also included $1 million for racial justice.
The city cut the maximum number of police officers from 105 to 74, meaning no new officers would be hired until the total number of Burlington cops fell below 74.
The city’s police have responded to a spike in crime in recent weeks, including burglary, vandalism, disorderly conduct, a stabbing, an assault with brass knuckles, and a hammer assault on a restaurant employee. This year, a Downtown Safety Survey showed that 51% of respondents said they have been a “victim of crime or harassment during, coming from, or leaving work downtown.”
Last month, businesses in downtown Burlington took matters into their own hands.
The Burlington Business Association sounded the alarm on increasing crime and announced the launch of the “Safety Escort Program” for employees, especially women who are fearful about leaving work at night, and anyone else who requests help.
The BBA said it plans to hire a private security company for the program. The plan is to have a safety escort arrive within 15 minutes to help anyone who requests one by calling or texting.
“We can’t continue to have women not wanting to work down here because they’re afraid,” said Kelly Devine, the BBA’s executive director, told the Burlington Free Press.
Women who work in downtown Burlington have reported being harassed by men as they left work at night.
“We can pretend this isn’t happening, but for the Burlington community and female workers it’s time to speak out,” Devine said. “To cut the police force by 30% with no alternative plan in place is a mistake.”
“I’m a woman leader, I felt like I had to do something,” she said. “That’s not who we are as Burlington and that’s not okay to allow that to continue.”
Ben & Jerry’s has become vocal in its support for progressive causes in recent years. The company first publicly expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2016. The company’s activism has even spilled over into its ice cream products with flavors like Pecan Resist and Justice ReMix’d.