Police Department Info

Our department today mirrors the growing needs of Colchester. In 2009 we have a department of 28 sworn officers and six full time civilian employees. Their assignments are as varied as the community we serve. The department routinely handles over seven thousand calls for service ranging from motor vehicle crashes to assaults to calls about suspicious persons. Chief Kirker manages a budget of over 3.5 million dollars: the largest department within Colchester town government.

Our assignments are as diverse as the community we serve. Our population reached over 17,000 in 2003; making Colchester the third largest community in the state behind our neighbors Burlington and Essex. We cover in excess of 35 square miles in land area. Our location in Chittenden County means we share a border with five other communities. We boast the largest shoreline in the state along Malletts Bay and Lake Champlain and have a thriving business and commercial base located at several different centers of development. Saint Michael's College attracts over 1900 students to their campus that is located entirely within our community. These and other features that make Colchester such a unique community, also offers increasing challenges to law enforcement.

The department's sworn personnel are divided into three sections. The office of the Chief of Police is responsible for preparation and management of the budget and administration of the department. The Operations division is the core of the department with an experienced and competent patrol force under the command of Lieutenant Douglas Allen. Providing needed assistance and investigative expertise is the Support Division, encompassing three detective positions, communications personnel, and information technology. Lieutenant Jeffrey Barton heads this division.

Our patrol division is organized into three teams that provide "around the clock" law enforcement services utilizing community policing ideals. With the recent addition of personnel, each Patrol Commander (Sergeant) supervises a team of six officers that are responsible for one third of the day.Meeting specific needs of the community, officers are assigned to special details such as our marine unit (May to September), youth services (D.A.R.E. and School/Community Resource Officer) bicycle patrol, and others. Recently we have moved to providing more proactive services such as providing outreach programs for businesses, and RAD, a self defense program for women.

Our communications personnel provides emergency and routine dispatching for Colchester and Milton with a combination of two police departments, three fire departments and two rescue squads. In addition, Communications acts as an after-hour resource for town services in both communities. Colchester Police Department is fortunate to have a dedicated staff of communication professionals staffing this critical area of our efforts to serve the community.

The support services division is also home to our Bureau of Criminal Investigations, better known as detectives. CPD detectives perform follow up and in depth investigations that the patrol staff is not able to do. Financial crimes and following criminal trends around the county and state are the forte of the detectives. Colchester Police also has an investigator assigned to the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations.Over the past year, Colchester Police Department has been involved in a process of self-evaluation leading to a new mission statement and values. These documents re-establish our commitment to providing high quality police services to the community while integrating community policing ideals.