Paul R. Philbrook was appointed Commissioner in 1980 and re-established stability to the Department. Charles A. Bristow became Commissioner on July 1, 1984, followed by Commissioner A. James Walton, Jr. on June 1, 1986.
The Waterbury HQ building – 1983
Headquarters moved to the Waterbury Complex from Montpelier in the Spring of 1983.
The Communications Division had designed and installed a statewide microwave and telecommunications system. These services were provided by the Department in support of all state agencies.
In late 1987 the Department was selected to administer a drug control and systems improvement grant from the federal government. This grant funded the first multi-jurisdictional drug task force in Vermont. The State Police transferred the Special Investigations Unit drug investigators into a new task force with a number of local departments supplying full time investigators.
Technological advances incorporated by the Department allowed conversion to infrared driving while intoxicated (DWI) processing equipment, establish a DNA analysis capability in the forensic laboratory and install a computer aided dispatch (CAD) records management system.