St. Albans city leaders discuss solutions to repeat crimes

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – Officials in the city of St. Albans are putting out a call to all residents who have noticed a string of crimes happening in the community.

“We had a situation here. Somebody broke in and took all the money out of the register. That was a lot for me because you know that was like a vulnerable thing for me. Like hey, somebody is in my place,” said business owner of Hangry The Donut Bar Erica McClain.

McClain has owned a business and lived in St. Albans, off and on, for the past ten years.

Recently, she’s noticed what she calls a slow uptick of crime on Main St. and in the neighborhood. She says she believes many of the people committing the crimes have struggles of their own, people just need to be more careful.

“I mean you got to lock your doors, you can’t have your cars open or your home doors unlocked just because, just in general you know, when people wanna do something bad, they are going to do it,” McClain said.

For the past several months, city officials report an unusual amount of low level crimes, like attempted burglaries, car break-ins, and house break-ins, on a weekly basis.

According to the police, the crimes are being committed by the same group of individuals. Sometimes five retail thefts a day, by the same person. Police bumped up their patrols on Main St., but now the crimes have ventured out into the surrounding community. City Manager Dominic Cloud says, the people committing the crimes are suffering with substance use disorder.

“In St. Albans there’s half a dozen folks who are struggling with addiction. They are fueling their addiction, robbing from the community. What’s missing there is that accountability mechanism that forces someone to get their life together,” Cloud explained.

City of St. Albans Police Chief Maurice Lamothe says the department could receive as many as 25 calls a week related to these misdemeanor crimes. But because the crimes only require a citation to go to court. Sometimes with no arrest, holding repeat offenders accountable is tough.

“The courts hands are somewhat tied. In the state statute, because you can only ask so much bail. Bail is designed so that the state meaning the court believes that you are a risk of flight and not to come to court. That’s when they can set bail. For these people that are repeat offenders in our area. They are not any flight of risk. They may not go to court, but they are not going to flee the area,” Lamothe said.

The city will hold a public safety forum, on June 17, at City Hall.

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