2023 RPD Incident Summary in Pie Charts

The following is a summary of 2023 incidents as reported by the Randolph Police Department for the six (6) months ending December, 2023. Here is the link to reports on the town web site.

The total number of incidents reported was 1,183, including 294 requests for fingerprints, 239 traffic stops,  63 agency assists, 60 citizen assists, 58 directed patrols, 55 suspicious events, 26 welfare checks, 25 arrests, 23 motor vehicle incidents, 22 special events, 18 accidents, 17 vandalism, 17 juvenile problems, 12 thefts, 8 assaults, and a variety of miscellaneous categories (all shown in the list below). Remember, this data is for only six (6) months, so figures should be doubled for annual rates. That would translate to 2,366 incidents per year.

How do we interpret this data? We need to determine what category represents the greatest demand for law enforcement in the community.

First, we have a graph of incidents by category, and the majority of incidents reported are fingerprint requests, traffic stops, motor vehicle complaints, accidents, agency/assists, and directed patrol. 

Directed patrol typically involves supervision of traffic enforcement in a designated area of concern. 

Traffic stops, motor vehicle complaints, accidents and directed patrol are all directly related to traffic or vehicle infractions, so they can be combined to get a better picture of how much demand is related to traffic and vehicle law enforcement. 

In the next graph, traffic stops, motor vehicle complaints, accidents and directed patrol are all combined to represent 28.6% of all incidents. Fingerprint requests are the next highest category at 24.9%.

Fingerprints are a service provided to anyone by appointment; this is not really a law enforcement category. It is not a "demand" for law enforcement like traffic or domestic violence. It is also a service to the entire town, not just village residents. Therefore, the next graph subtracts fingerprints from the total to get a more complete picture of the demand for law enforcement.

Eliminating fingerprints, we see 38% of law enforcement activity is spent on traffic or vehicle related demands. Where does the traffic come from? Where is the traffic going?

My contention is traffic is a major law enforcement category in the village because the village is the junction of 3 state highways dominated by commuter traffic either going to school, going to the hospital, or passing through the village on their commute from home to work. They are not traveling to the village to work or shop in the village district, as they did in past years when the village was the destination. Instead, they are traveling through the village to get to their destination.

This is why we see so much traffic related enforcement, yet arrest activity has dropped substantially compared to past decades. During the 1990's with Chief Mollitor, the department averaged 272 arrests per year, including double digits for B&E and DWI. Last year, the department only arrested 25 people in six months, an annual rate of 50 arrests per year, most on warrants. That is 18.38% of the average during Chief Mollitor's tenure. 

Why is that? Because the criminal activity that resulted in so many arrests no longer exists as it did in the past. A detailed review of arrest and traffic activity during the 1990's compared to 2023 is here in my blog post. With reduced business, there are fewer people, and less crime.

The businesses located out of the village district today did not exist back when town and village merged in 1983. The business in the village was largely responsible for the activity in the village that resulted in the need for local police coverage. The middle school and high school started bussing students from the region to the village in the 1960’s. The elementary school started bussing students from East and Center to the village in the year 2000.

Over the years, the village has suffered as the major employers in the village have closed or moved, while numerous small businesses have closed. Ethan Allen laid off 154 employees in 2002. According to the Herald, Ethan Allen at one time employed over 400 people at two locations in the village. It used to be hard to get a parking spot on Main Street during the day. There were cars and pedestrians everywhere. 

Today, Main Street is a shadow of its former glory; people shop on Amazon now. The Ben Franklin block is half empty. Ditto so many other vacant storefronts. Several commercial buildings burned and were not rebuilt as there is no demand (remember The Night Owl? The Thomas Store? The old liquor store next to the Olberman's pizza shop? So many others...). 

It is not an accident that major employers are now located outside the village district, as a business will avoid taxes wherever possible. It is for the same reason that the village fails to attract major new employers, as they have no compelling reason to pay the police tax voluntarily. A business will always take the best deal they can get, that is their duty to shareholders. Dubois & King was very generous to locate in the village, largely thanks to Mr. Bill Baumann. That building could easily be another vacant eyesore on Main Street. No wonder the village struggles to land new business, it is at a severe disadvantage due in part to the police taxes.

I believe the traffic is a town problem, as the traffic would largely not exist except for the schools, hospital and commuters. The hospital and schools pay no property taxes and serve the entire region, not just the village. In addition, people in the village can and do walk, while people from town have no choice but to drive, further contributing to the problem. 

When the village was the destination, the police were supported by the businesses that drew the people to the village. Now, the destination is too often business out of the village, leaving the police to handle commuter traffic that burdens instead of benefits the village.

This occurs over a long period of time, and people tend to forget the way things were. That is why I have focused on history. The village used to support and need six (6) full time officers, yet we were fine with three (3) full time deputies during the recent OCSD contract. What changed?

We see in the data that 30-40% of the incidents are traffic related. It is traffic and roads that demand the most attention. Retail is not going to recover in my lifetime, if ever; the storefronts on Main Street will continue to struggle. Factories are not likely to ever be major employers in the village again. This is not pessimism, it is realism.

We need to recognize the nature of the village has changed, and so should our approach to police coverage.

Following is a list of total incidents by category for July - December 2023 used to make the graphs above.

2023 Randolph PD - Incident Category	Total
Total - 911 Hangup	7
Total - Abandoned Vehicle	1
Total - Accidents	18
Total - Administrative	14
Total - Agency Assist	63
Total - Alarm	17
Total - Animal Problem	14
Total - Arrests	25
Total - Assault	4
Total - Assist Citizen/Motorist/Other	60
Total - Background Investigation	2
Total - Car Seat	1
Total - Child Abuse	1
Total - Citizen Dispute	7
Total - Civil Process	2
Total - Custodial Interference	2
Total - Death Investigation	2
Total - Directed Patrol	58
Total - Disorderly Conduct	1
Total - Disturbance	4
Total - Domestic Assault	1
Total - Domestic Disturbance	5
Total - DRE Evaluation	4
Total - Driving License Suspended	2
Total - Drugs	3
Total - Fingerprints	295
Total - Foot Patrol	7
Total - Found/Lost Property	15
Total - Fraud	1
Total - Identity Theft	1
Total - Information	9
Total - Intoxication	1
Total - Juvenile Problem	17
Total - Larceny	6
Total - Lewd and Lascivious Conduct	1
Total - Mental Health Issue	4
Total - Missing Person	3
Total - Motor Vehicle	23
Total - Non-Reportable Crash	2
Total - Overdose	2
Total - Parking	4
Total - Phone Problem	1
Total - Property Damage	2
Total - Property Watch	5
Total - Public Speaking	10
Total - Records Request	21
Total - Runaway	1
Total - Sexual Assault	4
Total - SOR Checks	10
Total - Speaking Engagement	4
Total - Special Event	22
Total - Suspicious Event	55
Total - Theft	12
Total - Threats/Harassment	2
Total - Tobacco/Vape Offense	5
Total - Traffic Hazard	1
Total - Traffic Stop	239
Total - Training	14
Total - Trespass	9
Total - TRO / FRO / ERPO Service	5
Total - Unsecured Premises	3
Total - Vandalism	17
Total - VIN Verification	6
Total - Welfare Check	26
2023 Grand Total (6 Months)	1183