Public safety department plans to launch statewide crime ‘heat map’ dashboard

By Sarah Mearhoff
Jan 22 2023



As part of a widespread plan from the executive branch to curb crime in Vermont, the state Department of Public Safety is poised to launch a public dashboard identifying communities with the highest volume of police calls.

The department is already using the map internally, and top officials say a public launch is intended to give Vermonters a transparent view of public safety concerns in near-real time.

Early skeptics, however, say the map gives the misleading impression that Vermont’s cities are disproportionately dangerous. The brightest “hot spots” simply show concentrations of population, they pointed out this week, arguing that without context, the map is likely to stoke unnecessary fear among the public.

Introducing the dashboard at a policy briefing for legislators last week, Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison told lawmakers that the map identifies Vermont’s “hottest” communities, where police departments receive the greatest number of phone calls for accusations of domestic violence, assault, drug-related activity, burglary, robbery, homicide and more.

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