but, tbh - I think most of the problems are drug related (which might involve the college to some extent, but mostly it's folks who are really struggling in the community. I know where I'm at - it's mostly property crimes (from folks who have substance abuse issues).
More generally, the state has problems with housing (lots of jobs, but very high cost of housing -esp. Burlington - but it's a statewide issue). This puts pressure on everyone (those in the middle class are really squeezed). The state has $$ from tourists and people who own second homes. We don't have a lot of housing (middle class) apartments. The housing we do have tends to be old homes (our housing stock is old) that are converted into apartments. But it's not enough to meet the needs. And landlords are raising rents (some flat out selling up for a profit).
Here's a very recent article on this: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/nowhere-to-go-vermonts-exploding-housing-crisis-hits-moderate-wage-earners/Content?oid=33532880&fbclid=IwAR2fSkEKWTzap8SmVih5CorhW4sKrakX-MUX9ZRbWyjxSAt1it0sWq4KaCs
The police in Burlington have been short staffed and that is well known (as in, we don't have enough people to work a specific shift). That signals the wrong thing, obv.
We do have a large immigrant community just north of burlington, but as a state we welcome immigrants from other countries (and I've not heard of specific problems related to that). I think housing, drugs, and policing problems all play into this (from what I can tell)
= new reply since forum marked as read