The head of the Vermont State Police says he thinks the tough economic times is leading to an increase in crime in the state.
Col. James Baker made the comments in the aftermath of the second police-involved shooting in Vermont in less than a week.
Baker says the Wednesday shootout between a state trooper and a Proctor man, who was wounded in the melee, is one of many desperate criminal acts that have occurred recently.
He says there’s a spike in family tensions.
Baker says there have been 19 homicides in Vermont so far this year, when the state usually averages between nine and 12.