After 6 years of increased crime, Royalton residents form public safety committee

ROYALTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Royalton residents flooded the Senior Center Wednesday to discuss public safety challenges they are seeing in their town.

Beth Willhite lives in a modest home in a quiet Royalton neighborhood. That’s why it was so unexpected when someone broke into her house in October of 2023.

“Complaining about it isn’t a solution -- as my grandmother used to say -- and doing nothing is not an option because now it’s my family’s safety that’s at risk,” Willhite said.

It’s part of the reason she began the Royalton Public Safety Committee and decided to hold a public forum with Vermont State Police and the Royalton Police,

There was consensus among participants about how the increased crime the town has seen since 2018 has shaken the community. Many attendees shared stories of their personal experiences as victims of crime.

It’s a similar story across the state -- drug and alcohol use bringing about crimes like theft; local police short-staffed; repeat offenders violating conditions of release and returning to the streets because of court backlogs; and what many residents called “questionable decisions” by judges.

“Burlington is having its own public safety crisis. The city of St. Albans is facing its own, unique public safety crisis, the town of Royalton might have its own public safety issue going on. It’s not all the same story,” said Ted Brady with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

Brady commissioned a report on public safety in the state, and its results came as no surprise. He says although it’s not the same story, Vermont’s cities and towns are all facing the same troubling intersection of the opioid crisis, mental health struggles, and under-resourced policing. “The police are the only ones responding in many of these towns, and that’s probably not the right solution. That’s why places like Burlington, St. Albans, often hire more integrated public mental health safety workers into their police departments,” Brady said.

So, what can be done? In Royalton, they’re forming a public safety committee that almost all of those in attendance at the forum signed up to be a part of. They’re setting plans in motion to form several neighborhood watches with training sessions. They’re also hoping to form subcommittees, including one that has a direct relationship with emergency services, another that lobbies legislators, and one to work with the local state’s attorney.

“I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know we need to get together. We need to start talking. We need to start figuring some stuff out,” said Willhite.

Willhite says there will be another public safety forum in October and that they hope to finish up their plans before the legislative session in January.

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