Randolph Police - Historical Activity Comparison, 1990's and 2023

The following is a comparison of the Randolph Police Department arrest and ticket activity during the 1990's and 2023. 

To compare the reported 2023 data to historical data from the nineties, I reviewed the police reports submitted for the town report each year. Copies of each report are included at the end of this post for reference.

During the decade, Chief Mollitor reported the total number of complaints during the year, as well as arrests by category, traffic tickets issued, warnings issued, and auto accidents. Today, the department is reporting activity differently. In any case, there are not nearly as many arrests during the year.

Most important, the number of incidents handled in 2023 is far below the average number of complaints reported by Chief Mollitor in the 1990's. In any case, if incidents and complaints are comparable activities, then it seems the department is not nearly as busy as thirty years ago.

The department reported an average total of 5,282 calls per year during the nineties. This compares to an annual rate of 2,366 incidents for 2023.

Arrests have dropped substantially. As shown above, the average arrests per year in the decade was 272; during the six month period ending December, 2023 the department arrested a total of 25 people, equivalent to 50 people per year, half of which are on arrest warrants. This is 18.38% of the ten year average from thirty years ago.

For traffic tickets and warnings, the statistics are show an increase in tickets in 2023, compared to the department average of 396 traffic tickets per year during the 1990's. During 2023, the department issued 207 traffic tickets in six months, for an annual rate of 414 per year. 

There were an additional 32 traffic warnings during the six month period in 2023, but Chief Mollitor did not report warnings so there is no comparison. In any case, demand for traffic enforcement seems greater than thirty years ago. 

Randolph Police Department												Historical Activity Comparison
											2023	2023
Year	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	6 mo.	Total (est)
Total Complaints/Calls	4,200	4,063	3,580	4,617	5,333	6,338	6,512	6,167	5,568	6,444	NR	NR
Total Incidents	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	1,183	2,134
Average over 10 years										5,282
Arrests
B & E	24	28	9	8	16	11	5	11	0	0	0	0
DWI	30	25	14	16	25	32	21	11	27	30	0	0
Drugs	2	2	1	5	10	10	3	6	13	15	2	4
Motor Vehicle	86	40	12	19	28	43	36	27	22	25	2	4
Arrest Warrants	28	21	13	13	19	22	13	6	18	22	12	24
Other	150	159	112	228	183	137	132	65	53	53	9	11
Larceny	20	42	29	8	37	37	20	36	21	11	0	2
Sexual & Physical Assault	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	38	24	34	0	5
Bad Checks/Forgeries	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	31	19	24	0	0
Minors w/ Alcohol	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	16	52	25	0	0
Subtotal Arrests	340	317	190	297	318	292	230	247	249	239	25	50
Average Arrests over 10 years										272
Traffic
Traffic Tickets (TT)	527	622	281	297	298	390	324	342	326	345	207	414
Auto Accidents (AA)	31	41	15	27	24	12	14	15	17	15	18	36
Total Warnings											32	64
												0
Subtotal (TT+AA+Warnings)	558	663	296	324	322	402	338	357	343	360	257	514
Average Tickets over 10 years										396
NR = Not Reported

RPD 1990/91

RPD 1992

RPD 1993

RPD 1994

RPD 2010

RPD 1996

RPD 1997

RPD 1998

RPD 1999

RPD 2010

RPD 2011

RPD 2012

RPD 2013

RPD 2014 (1 of 2)

RPD 2014 (2 of 2)

RPD 2015

RPD 2016

RPD 2017

RPD 2018

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