Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION Meeting Minutes August 22, 2018 3:00 P.M. 8/22/2018 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Whittum called the meeting to order at the above date and time. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chairman Whittum lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Executive Assistant Lori A. Marsh 4. ROLL CALL 4.A. Chairman recognizes Police Commission members present Chairman Whittum recognized Commissioners Present - Chairman Douglas Whittum, Commissioner Thomas Tarr and Commissioner Frank Mello. 4.B. Chairman recognizes Staff present Chairman Whittum recognized Staff Present - Chief Canfield, Captain Graton, Lieutenant Simmons, Lieutenant Swett, Lieutenant Finogle and Prosecutor Sawyer. 4.C. Chairman recognizes a quorum has been established and there are three Commission members present Chairman Whittum recognized a quorum has been established and there are three Commission members present. 5. PERSONNEL MATTERS 5.A. Commendations & Awards No discussion. 5.B. Training Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle advised there will be two out-of-state school requests to be addressed later under Commission Action. 1  5.B.i. Orders & Bulletins 5.C. Miscellaneous - Laconia Links Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield noted a nice article Lt. Simmons submitted for Laconia Links about the Citizens Police Academy. 5.D. Resignations/Retirement Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised it was discussed in the prior Police Commission Meeting that Lt. Swett had submitted his notice to retire at the end of the month. He advised there will be a luncheon to honor Lt. Swett on August 31st at noon and all are invited. 5.E. Hirings Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle advised there are currently five applicants in the background process. He advised one new hire just graduated from the Academy this past Friday and two are scheduled to go into the Academy on Monday. He advised the backgrounds should be wrapped up in a few weeks with a projected hire date sometime in November. Chairman Whittum inquired when the recently graduated officer will be starting. Lt. Finogle advised he started field training and it will be another twelve weeks before he is out. Commissioner Tarr inquired where this leaves us for staffing. Chief Canfield advised this will leave us over-staffed by one and we are anticipating we will be filling the School Resource Officer position starting in January, which will bring us to full staff. 5.F. Promotions/Classification Change Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised as a result of Lt. Swett's retirement, we've conducted a promotional process for the rank of Sergeant and and a promotional process for the rank of Lieutenant. He advised he is pleased to present Officer Richard Carlson as the candidate for Sergeant. He advised Officer Carlson has been a Police Officer for 12+ years and is an accident reconstructionist, which involves pretty intense training. He advised he is a Taser Instructor and Field Training Officer and had previously been a Sergeant with the Franklin Police Department for four years prior to coming to us. Chief Canfield advised Officer Carlson is very qualified and certainly came up tops in the process. Chief Canfield advised he also presents Sergeant Kevin Butler, who has run our Detective Unit for many years. He advised Sergeant Butler has 28 years of law enforcement experience, having started in Massachusetts with Northeastern 2  University. He advised Sergeant Butler is a polygrapher, which is also a very intense school. He advised Sergeant Butler has done a great job over the years and will certainly do very well filling the role of Lieutenant. Chief Canfield advised he presents both candidates to the Commission for promotion. Commissioner Tarr requested an overview of the selection process. Chief Canfield advised the process is run by Lt. Finogle. He advised the Sergeant process consists of a written test and a staff review, which is a point assessment score based on various factors, to include collateral duties, whether they took the PT test, degrees and previous evaluations. He advised they then move on to an oral board, which is comprised of outside agencies, who conduct an interview process. He advised the top three names are then presented to him and he then conducts interviews, which develops the top person out of the three. Chairman Whittum inquired if there is a motion to accept the recommendations made by Chief Canfield. Commissioner Tarr moved to approve the promotions of Officer Carlson and Sergeant Butler as recommended by Chief Canfield and seconded by Commissioner Mello. Motion passed unanimously. The swearing in of Lt. Butler and Sgt. Carlson was performed by Ann Kaligian. 6. DIVISION/BUREAU COMMANDER'S FORUM 6.A. Operations/Support Division Commander Chairman Whittum recognized Capt. Graton. Capt. Graton advised we have been approved for a new radio system for the police department, along with repeaters for the fire department. He advised the contracts have been signed with Motorola and Ossipee Mountain and first payments have been made to both. He advised a completion date is slated for June 1, 2019. He advised we are waiting to receive all of the equipment and then get it to Ossipee Mountain to get everything fitted and make sure it's working correctly. He advised installation of the equipment will be in the spring. He advised the upgrade in dispatch will take place this winter with all of the software and addition of some other things in dispatch that are needed. Chief Canfield commented Councilor Cheney is present and he and the City Manager were an integral part in getting this system. He advised this is something we had requested at least over the the past three years from Capital Improvement and it is a major project and the expertise of Councilor Cheney helped bring that project to fruition. Chief Canfield wished to thank Councilor Cheney and Chairman Whittum also thanked Councilor Cheney. Capt. Graton advised some of the other projects in the works that were started last year through CIP include the sally port being enlarged so that the transport van can access the sally port, which was approved. He also advised we have ordered a drying chamber for the evidence room to dry evidence that has blood or other biological matter on it. He advised this is about 6 weeks out before it's installed. He advised we also ordered some more portable radios and those are in and will be distributed to the officers. He also advised a ventilation system for the evidence room 3  to circulate the air has been ordered, as well as one for the Armory so that weapons can be cleaned. He advised all of those projects are moving forward. Capt. Graton advised we are working on the CIP requests for this upcoming year. He advised we will be receiving some training equipment, to include some interactive use of force training equipment. He advised the new cruisers have been ordered through Grapone Ford and should be in within the next month. He advised that once they are picked up and painted, they will brought to Ossipee Mountain to get all of the electronics installed. He advised we are also planning for Biketemberfest on September 12th and 13th or 13th and 14th in the Weirs, which is a type of block party. Commissioner Tarr inquired if this is a new event and Capt. Graton advised yes. He advised it is still in the planning stages, as they are trying to get Liquor Commission approval, and hopefully we will know Friday if it's actually going forward or not. Chairman Whittum inquired who is sponsoring this and Capt. Graton advised Anthony from Tower Hill is the one who started the whole movement and they are trying to get all of the establishments from Tower Hill up to the Paradise Beach Club to come in on it. He advised they would block it off like a block party and will have a stage outside with a band and alcohol. 6.B. Support Division No discussion. 6.C. Operations Division Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Simmons. Lt. Simmons advised there is nothing new this month. Commissioner Tarr inquired about shutting down National Night Out early. Lt. Simmons advised it started with a lot of promise and there were a lot of people there and everything was set up, but the weather was too bad. He advised he is glad that Assistant Chief Beattie recommended we put out a notice to shut it down. 6.D. Detective Division No discussion. 6.E. Legal Division Chairman Whittum recognized Pros. Sawyer. Pros. Sawyer thanked Lt. Swett for his service. He advised he took over for Judge Carroll; however, in between Judge Carroll leaving and his arrival, Lt. Swett took the reigns of the Prosecution Unit and he did a great job. He advised Lt. Swett taught him how to be a prosecutor in large part, as he didn't have any prosecution experience prior to arriving at the Laconia Police Department. He advised this was almost 17 years ago and he appreciates Lt. Swett's professionalism and sense of humor and advised he will be missed by the department. 4 7. COMMISSION ACTION Chairman Whittum advised there has been an a last minute addition to the agenda under Commission Action. He advised there has been a proposal set forth to change the City Holiday Schedule. He read the proposed change: Pending City Council action and approval, the Commission supports the proposal to change the Columbus Day holiday with December 24, 2018, for non-union employees. Chairman Whittum requested Chief Canfield to expand on this. Chief Canfield advised this was something that was initiated by the City Manager, as he thought it was beneficial to non- union personnel to swap the two holidays, as Christmas falls on a Tuesday and Christmas Eve is on a Monday. He advised he thought it would be a nice gesture to to have a four day weekend for those people in exchange for giving up the Columbus Day holiday. He asked if the Police Department could follow suit on that. He advised that would be subject to the City Manager bringing it before the City Council and the Council approving it overall. Chairman Whittum inquired if there was a Motion to accept this recommended change for substituting Columbus Day with December 24th. Commissioner Tarr moved that we accept this recommendation, seconded by Commissioner Mello and passed unanimously. 7.A. Acceptance of minutes from previous meeting On a motion made by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Tarr, and passed unanimously, the meeting minutes of July 11, 2018 were accepted as distributed. 7.B. Out-of-State School Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle explained there are two out-of-state schools being requested. He advised one request is for an At Scene Traffic Crash/Traffic Homicide Investigation course being held in Massachusetts at the Massachusetts State Police Academy for MPO John Howe. He advised he was accepted to become a member of the TAR team and the dates of the school are March 4, 2019 through March 15, 2019. He advised the cost and information are contained in the commission packet. Chief Canfield advised we took over Accident Reconstruction Team for the County and he and Capt. Graton are in charge of the team. He advised that as part of that, it was put out to our officers as an opportunity to increase the expertise on the team. He advised MPO Howe put in for it. He advised this At Scene school is one of the first in a series of three basic schools to become an accident reconstructionist. He advised unfortunately these schools were hosted locally at the NH Police Academy for many years on a rotational basis; however, due to budget cuts they haven't been held there for quite some time. He advised this is the closest school in Massachusetts at the Massachusetts State Police Academy. 5  Commissioner Tarr inquired if Belmont Police Department was in charge before. Chief Canfield advised yes when Mark Lewandoski was Chief of Police. Commissioner Tarr inquired if it requires a full time Chief and Chief Canfield advised yes. Chief Canfield advised his request was to attend the IACP Conference in Florida. He advised this conference is annual training for Chiefs not only nationally, but also internationally. He advised it not only has lots of good information/programs for Chiefs, but also includes a lot of good contacts. He advised he attended last year and obtained some really good information on technology and what is going on around the country. Chairman Whittum inquired if there was a Motion to accept the out-of-state school requests for At Scene Traffic Crash/Traffic Homicide Investigation Accident Investigation for MPO Jonathan Howe and the IACP Conference for Chief Canfield. Commissioner Tarr moved to approve both out-of-state training requests, seconded by Commissioner Mello and passed unanimously. 7.B.i. International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference - Chief Matthew Canfield 7.B.ii. At-Scene Traffic Crash/Traffic Homocide Investigation - MPO Jonathan Howe 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS 8.A. Department Monthly Highlights Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the enclosed Monthly Activity Report statistics. 8.B. Monthly Fleet Report Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle advised we had a window kicked out of a cruiser two days ago and it is in to be repaired. 8.C. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Swett. Lt. Swett advised he nothing to add this moth. 8.D. Monthly Traffic Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Report statistics 8.E. Budget Print-Out 6  Chairman Whittum recognized Capt. Graton. Capt. Graton advised we are on track for the year. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised several thank you letters were received and a nice e-mail received thanking Off. Rouse for an escort he did. Chairman Whittum inquired if that was for Make-A- Wish and Chief Canfield advised it was. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised he will be doing a presentation to the Laconia School Board on the School Resource Officer position that was approved and funded for half a year. He advised we will be working with the School Board, as well as the Middle School Principal, on what that will entail. Commissioner Tarr inquired if that will be implemented in January and Chief Canfield advised thereabouts. He advised it depends on personnel and what we can backfill, as that position is going to be pulled from patrol. He advised it will depend on availability and staffing level. He advised it may not be January, but has been funded for that time period. He advised there may be a period of transition where someone is in there a few days per week until we can backfill it on the lower end. Chief Canfield advised he has been appointed by the Commissioner of Safety, after being nominated by the New Hampshire Chiefs of Police Association, to the Statewide Interoperability Committee. He advised this committee oversees the communications and technology for communications for emergency services throughout the State. He advised it's a good committee to be on. He advised one of the primary responsibilities is the FirstNet project, which is basically a cellular service for emergency services in the schools in the event a major disaster happens and the system goes down. This would be a redundant system for emergency services. Chairman Whittum advised we would be remiss in not recognizing Councilor Cheney for his efforts in getting that position for the Middle School going forward. 10.A. Performance Assessment Report Cards Chief Canfield advised we received 20 performance assessment report cards, all of which were A's, which was really nice to see. 10.B. Overdose Statistics Chief Canfield reviewed the Overdose Statistics report and advised we are trending slightly down from last year. 10.C. Citizen Police Academy 7  No discussion. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular or Special Meeting date of September 19, 2018 was confirmed. 14. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 15. CITIZEN COMMENTS No citizen comments. 16. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According To RSA 91-A:3, II) Not necessary. 17. ADJOURNMENT On a Motion made by Commissioner Tarr, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 3:27 p.m. 8 https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=637&agendaID=782 8/29/2018