What a difference a year makes. A new Mayor and City Council members, direct vote on the City budget by the community, the loss of our City Manager and an increase in demand for policing services.

To respond to the increase demand for speed and traffic enforcement, the department was successful in securing a $38,000 Highway Safety Grant from the State of Vermont. This grant allowed for the additional assignment of an officer for 40 hours of dedicated enforcement concentrating on Driving While Under the Influence violations.

Officer Diana Miranowicz was assigned to the Winooski School District, as a second School Resource Officer, as a result of the increase in funding from the United States Department of Justice. She, along with Officer James Fuller, will dedicate their time to youth based activities and juvenile crime. The City of Winooski, in cooperation with the Vermont National Guard, organized and successfully completed its first "Respect and Responsibility" summer camp for middle school age children. Many thanks to Officer Fuller and Miranowicz.

Kilo, our police patrol dog, completed his first full year. During this year, he was certified as a "drug" dog and can be used to locate hidden illegal narcotics. Kilo's training was made possible by a generous donation from the members of the Winooski VFW.

After several years of trying, the department finally connected to the State Computer Aided Dispatch system, better known as "Spillman". This system allows the department access to information from all full-time police agencies within the State. Unfortunately, with the mid-year installation I cannot retrieve statistical information from this system until the end of the calendar year. With the CAD system in place, and the eventual installation of Mobile Data Terminals in each vehicle, the City is one step closer to
centralized dispatch.

I would like to thank all the members of the Winooski Police Department for their continued support and unwavering dedication to our profession. We look forward to working with our new City Manager and providing the best policing services to the members of our community.

(Steve McQueen, Chief of Police)