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Essex Junction police chief and community advisory board tout new resident survey, spotlight staffing and crime trends
Summary
The Police Community Advisory Board launched a new community survey; Chief Hogue reported four vacancies, initiatives to address retail theft and expanded use of the Community Justice Center; staff encouraged residents to take the survey and attend meetings.
Essex Junction — Volunteers from the Police Community Advisory Board (PCAB) on Aug. 13 urged residents to complete a newly released community survey, and Essex Police Chief updated the council on staffing, crime trends and community programs.
PCAB member Gwendolyn said the board spent more than a year drafting the survey and is encouraging broad participation so results can be compared with a 2021 survey. "If you have done your surveys, that's great. If you haven't, please do them," she said, pointing the public to the town news section and QR code in the council packet.
Chief Hogue told the council the department remains short-staffed with about four vacancies, including two recruits currently in the 18-week police academy and additional planned field training that lasts months after academy graduation. "It is a long, long process from the time that someone applies to the time they're actually working by themselves as a police officer on the road," Hogue said, summarizing academy and field-training timelines.
Crime trends and response: Hogue said overall property crime is down year-to-date through Aug. 12, but retail theft and larceny-from-vehicle incidents have increased. He said the department is encouraging businesses to report retail theft and has formed a crime-reduction team combining detectives and volunteer patrol officers for targeted enforcement and business contact. "Please encourage your friends and neighbors, lock their vehicles. Don't leave valuables in their cars," Hogue said when urging preventive steps.
Community Justice Center and diversion: Hogue said the department increased referrals to the Chittenden County Community Justice Center (CJC) in fiscal year 2025, achieving high completion rates. He said the town will participate in upcoming discussions about a regional transition that will move some work to Burlington and warned that the local model may change. "We know that there's gonna be a transition with the Community Justice Center coming up in the next year," he said, and city staff and council appointees will serve on transition committees.
PCAB and public engagement: Gwendolyn said PCAB seeks two more members and will vote on chair and vice-chair positions; she asked the council to encourage residents to take the survey and to attend PCAB meetings. Chief Hogue and staff said the department is scheduling regular "Coffee with a Cop" events roughly every 90 days and encouraged residents to use advisory meetings to bring concerns to police.
Dispatching and mutual aid: Hogue noted the town signed a dispatching memorandum-of-understanding extension with Williston in spring and that the department uses the Crescent Connector and other local routes for event traffic control; he credited public-works workers and outside partners for support on large events.
Ending: Councilors thanked PCAB volunteers and the police for outreach and public-safety work and asked staff to post the survey link prominently. PCAB and police officials said they will return with survey-response totals once staff have compiled them.
