BPD Receives Major Recognition
The City of Burlington Police Department (BPD) announced yesterday, November 14, that it has recently received major recognition.
In October, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) awarded the BPD the 2011 IACP Cival Rights Award as well as the Excellence in Victim Services Award. Additionally, BPD announced that they, in partnership with the HowardCenter, were a semi-finalist for the Webber-Seavey Quality in Law Enforcement Award for the Street Outreach Interventionist Program.
The 2011 IACP CIVIL RIGHTS AWARD is for the collective efforts of Burlington, University of Vermont, South Burlington, and Winooski Police Departments as well as community members through Uncommon Alliance, to develop and implement Vermont’s first effort at collecting race data across motor vehicle stops. The award recognizes this grassroots community effort and the commitment by local law enforcement to be proactive and engage in shared problem solving. The data collected is being utilized as a tool in efforts to mitigate the impact of bias in policing and to work on training and outreach to better serve an increasingly diverse community, and to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in local law enforcement and the criminal justice system of Vermont.
The EXCELLENCE IN VICTIM SERVICES AWARD was given ot BPD in recognition of the City’s Parallel Justice Program, which exists to support victims of crime in cases that do not result in arrest and formal/traditional victim advocacy. The Parallel Justice Program is a partnership between the BPD, the Community Justice Center, and a host of other critical participants. Chief Michael Schirling commented: “We have long known that Burlington's Parallel Justice Program is a successful, innovative approach to supporting victims and survivors of crime. This formal recognition of those who make this initiative an integral part of supporting our local victims of crime is heartening.”
Additionally, the Burlington Police Department, in Partnership with the HowardCenter, was a semi-finalist for the Webber-Seavey Quality in Law Enforcement Award for the Street Outreach Interventionist Program. Since 2000, a Street Outreach Team of social-workers has been targeting the inner city and Marketplace District, and providing services to persons with all types of unmet social service needs. The constant presence of this Team has significantly reduced the time police and other emergency service providers spend responding to downtown calls as a result of these needs. Since then the program has expanded and seen success engaging many service resistant persons and reducing calls to emergency services.
Congratulations to our hard working police department. Thank you for your service. These honors are well deserved.
