— By Matt Golec

White River Junction, VT 11/22/24

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

That’s what Hartford Police Chief Greg Sheldon says about the department hiring its first crime/data analyst—one of the few in Vermont. It’s a shift toward data-driven police work in Hartford, where cops and social service agencies work together to identify and address problems within the community.

Those partnerships are important because more than 80 percent of Hartford’s police calls are non-criminal in nature. It’s drug use, homelessness, noise issues, and other disturbances. And it’s why the post is part of the department’s new Community Outreach Division.

“We're not the pros at mental health, we’re not the pros of homelessness or substance use disorder,” Sheldon said. “We’re the pros … of crime and law enforcement. So how do we bridge that gap to provide the best outcome for the people that are calling for our help?”

Enter Amie Wunderlich—aka the bridge. She began her job just three weeks ago, tasked with reviewing patrol reports, spotting trends in problem areas or with individuals, connecting officers and community partners who can best deal with those trends, and, not least, sharing data with the community.

“Everybody is stretched thin and busy doing their work on the ground,” Wunderlich said. “There's reports about what's happening, but there's not really been anyone designated to look at that from above. So that's what I do.”

Wunderlich’s father was a police officer, so she appreciates law enforcement while recognizing the limits to solving problems with police powers. As the former project director for the Hartford Community Coalition, she also knows Hartford and how non-profits function.

“There was always this hope that there would be a connection somewhere, which is how I got so excited when I learned about this job,” Wunderlich said.

Lt. Karl Ebbighausen, who runs the Community Outreach Division, said Wunderlich stood out in a field of qualified candidates. Ebbighausen thought she might need some time to get up to speed, but instead she dove right in, hammering away to get ready for the first Project HartStat meeting (or Hartstat — the program is so new, they haven’t decided yet how many capital letters it should have).

At these public meetings, held at the Hartford Police Department building, Wunderlich will provide the public and community partners with an overview of the crime and disturbance data. It’s a way to help the public understand where the police are focusing their efforts, and for community partners to identify problems they are best suited to tackle.

The first meeting is scheduled for February 11 at 8 a.m. They’ll start with a once-per-month schedule, but the goal is to report every two weeks. Data hounds who miss a meeting will also be able to find the information online.

Amie Wunderlich and Lt. Karl Ebbighausen. Photo by Matt Golec.

Ebbighausen, who moved from being patrol supervisor to head the new outreach division last December, sees this as a multi-agency response to the types of problems the department gets called to deal with every day.

“Homelessness is not a crime,” Ebbighausen said. “Substance use is not a crime, mental health issues are not a crime. But we respond to those because there's nobody else to respond.” But while several different officers might respond to a noise complaint at the same house, or a mental health issue with the same person, that pattern might get lost without Wunderlich collecting the data.

“Data really tells us where to focus our resources, who to focus our resources on, and also to … present the data to a public forum so that we are being transparent,” Ebbighausen said. There are still two open desks in the outreach division, which Ebbighausen expects to fill with a police social worker from HCRS, an agency dealing with mental health issues, and a substance use counselor from the Clara Martin Center.

These people will be better equipped to deal with addiction or mental health issues, Ebbighausen explained, freeing up patrol officers to focus on criminal activity. “So working on (homelessness, substance abuse and mental health) will hopefully have a reduction in the crime down the road, as well as provide safety and security to the residents in town who feel uncomfortable with some of those issues,” Ebbighausen said.

Danielle Cayton, the Director of Substance Use & Justice-Involved Services with the Clara Martin Center, said they had a substance use counselor embedded with Hartford previously, though that person has since moved on.

“We had really good success with that,” Cayton said, adding that she thinks the data Wunderlich collects will show how Hartford benefits from collaborations with various agencies. Cayton also says she’s impressed with the “care and compassion” the town shows to people who are struggling, and how they connect them with services instead of stigmatizing them.