Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 19, 2018 3:00 P.M. 12/19/2018 - 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 Whittum recognized Commissioners present - Chairman Douglas Whittum, Commissioner Thomas Tarr and Commissioner Frank Mello. 4.B. Chairman Whittum recognized Staff present - Chief Matthew Canfield, Captain Allan Graton, Lieutenant Richard Simmons, Lieutenant Michael Finogle, Lieutenant Kevin Butler and Prosecutor James Sawyer. 4.C. 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. 5.B.i. Orders & Bulletins Lt. Finogle advised one recruit graduated from the Academy and is currently in the 12-week field training program and will be out on the road on his own after that. 5.C. Miscellaneous - Laconia Links No discussion. 5.D. Resignations/Retirement 1/9  Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. 5.D.i. Noah M. Beaulieu Chief Canfield advised Noah Beaulieu is no longer employed by the Laconia Police Department. 5.E. Hirings Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle advised there is one in the background process and, if that pans out, there is a tentative hire date in March, which will line him up for the May academy. He also advised we will actively start recruiting again after the first of the year and will pull from the pool of applicants out of the Great Bay Community College testing process. 5.F. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Captain Chairman Whittum recognized Capt. Graton. Capt. Graton advised still working on the budget for the 2019/2020 year and should have it wrapped up and turned in by December 28th. Commissioner Tarr inquired if that's when presentation is and Capt. Graton advised no and that it's just the date it needs to be submitted. Chief Canfield advised the presentation is usually in late May or the beginning of June. Commissioner Tarr inquired if we are expecting any new initiatives that might be included the next budget year. Chief Canfield advised it will be a pretty minimal increase. He advised a few small items are included, but nothing major and will provide the Commission with a copy when it's ready to be submitted. Commissioner Tarr inquired about last year not receiving a grant regarding the hardening of security and inquired if that is something that needs to be included in the budget. Capt. Graton advised that will probably be more of a Capital Improvement request. Commissioner Whittum inquired if that was for the fence security and Chief Canfield advised yes. 6.B. Operations Lieutenant Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Simmons. Lt. Simmons advised the schedule is looking better and that we had an officer added at the end of November and another added at the beginning of December. He advised we are trying to get some of the self initiated activity numbers up, which by adding a couple of bodies, they are doing a good job of this. He advised it will not be noticeable in the current reports, as the numbers in those reports are for November. 2/9  He advised that in regards to parking tickets, which is a big push to make sure the roads are clear for plowing operations, last year there were 42 parking tickets issues and this year there are 82. He advised that so far for December, we are already at 76. He advised there is a lot of effort out there by the officers to keep the roads cleared. He advised that in regards to car stops and motor vehicle enforcement, again for November the numbers didn't really come up much, but they are already starting to come up for December with the extra bodies, as there are already 50 more car stops for December as there was for November. Commissioner Tarr inquired if the department is able to keep the funds received from parking fines. Capt. Graton advised no and that the money goes directly to the City's General Fund. 6.C. Support Lieutenant Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle advised we are focusing on recruitment after the first of the year to fill two vacancies. 6.D. Investigations Lieutenant Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Butler. Lt. Butler advised Sgt. Black is settling in well. Commissioner Tarr advised at last month's meeting he inquired about the number of Felony arrests and noted it seems low compared to last year. Lt. Simmons volunteered at that meeting that it was due to a lot more people being indicted under the Felony First rule. Commissioner Tarr inquired if there were any other issues that attribute to this. Lt. Butler advised there are less Detectives than last year. He also advised there are a lot more people being directly indicted as opposed to being arrested due to Felony First, so no stats are kept on that. He advised if someone is arrested, they are either offered cash bail or refuse, and there are very strict time parameters that all paperwork has to be submitted. He advised it's difficult to do and is done on occasion, but when we can not do it, it's easier if it's that kind of case to just direct indict. Commissioner Tarr advised he also noticed there were 730 hours of training. Lt. Butler replied that it was due to Detective Horan training the five new recruits. 6.E. Legal Prosecutor Chairman Whittum recognized Pros. Sawyer. Pros. Sawyer advised the background has been done on the one volunteer who submitted an application a month ago. He advised when it's finally approved she will start training in January. He also advised there is interest from another prospective volunteer, who appears capable, and as soon as her application is returned we will start the background and hopefully have two new people helping out at the PD. 3/9 7. COMMISSION ACTION 7.A. Acceptance of minutes from previous meeting On a Motion made by Commissioner Tarr, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the meeting minutes of November 21, 2018 were accepted as distributed. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS 8.A. Department Monthly Highlights Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Activity report. He noted the volunteer hours for department employees can be attributed to a lot of coaching. No further discussion. 8.B. Monthly Fleet Report Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Finogle. Lt. Finogle advised two new cars have been received and one should be done hopefully before the end of year and the second is at The Sign Shop to be lettered and then will go for equipment outfitting. Chairman Whittum inquired about the timeline between when cars are received and when they are out on the road. Lt. Finogle responded it currently is being held up by the fact that Ossipee Mountain Electronics took on a bigger contract with some other agencies, so it depends on their timeline. He also advised that once received by us, they are painted and we have to wait for the fresh paint to dry before lettering, so these are other things that cause a delay. 8.C. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Lt. Butler. No discussion. 8.D. Budget Print-Out Chairman Whittum recognized Capt. Graton. No discussion. 8.E. Monthly Traffic Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Statistics Report. No further discussion. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT 4/9  Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised a very nice thank you letter was received from residents of Shore Drive thanking us for our investigation of a burglary at their residence. He advised several officers were mentioned in it and it was nice feedback. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. 10.A. Performance Assessment Report Cards Chief Canfield advised two performance assessment report cards were received, both of which were A's. He advised we don't seem to get a whole lot back, but it's nice to see high marks on these. 10.B. Overdose Statistics Chief Canfield reviewed the Overdose Statistics reports and noted we have had eleven overdose deaths as compared to nine last year. Commissioner Mello inquired if these statistics are just our statistics or combined with the Fire Department. Chief Canfield replied they are just for LPD and their statistics would probably not reflect entirely the same as our's, as they don't respond to all of the calls that we do. Commissioner Mello noted we would know about the deaths, but inquired as far as overdoses. Chief Canfield advised we would know, as we respond to every single overdose call. Commissioner Tarr inquired if there are any general comments about the trend or any specific reason for where we are at. Chief Canfield responded that it certainly is an issue that is not going away. He advised we've experienced eleven overdose deaths year to date, which is the highest we've seen it get. He advised with that being said, the outlook on this issue is going to change under the Governor's proposal, which has been approved. He advised at the beginning of the year there are six different hubs that were created throughout the State, the hospital here being considered one of the hubs for the County. He advised they are going to bring a host of services, including on-the-spot treatment. He advised we'll be able to refer people to 2-1-1 and they will be able to be hooked up with services instantly. He advised that has been a large part of his problem and a large part of what Eric Adams has been doing with connecting people to those services and which services have been lacking in the State, particularly in this area. He advised that hub is pretty exciting news and has the potential to have a pretty big impact on this problem at least from the recovery aspect of it. Commissioner Tarr inquired when this expected to come on-line and Chief Canfield advised sometime at the beginning of the year. He advised there is a meeting scheduled in January. He advised the date hasn't been announced, but they are looking to get that going right at t he beginning of the year. Commissioner Tarr inquired if there is coordination amongst the different treatment agencies, as there seems to be quite a few agencies who provide substance abuse treatment in the City and now this new designation of Laconia as a hub and more resources coming to LRGH to administer. He inquired if everyone is working together or doing their own thing. Chief Canfield responded that it is his understanding that this is supposed to bring all those services together and on the same page. He advised it will probably be using all those resources as part of this effort and everyone seems to be on board and Eric Adams has been entrenched on those boards as well. 5/9 Pros. Sawyer advised he believes they communicate well, although it can always be improved. He advised the big providers are Horizons and Navigating Recovery and sober houses, which all know each other and utilize their resources, as well as Lakes Region Mental Health. Commissioner Tarr inquired if there competition between amongst the providers to get clients into their programs. Pros. Sawyer advised he doesn't believe so and advised there is an overlap, however, not a lot in terms of what t hey provide. He advised he is not sure what Lakes Region Mental Health has to offer that may or may not overlap with Horizons and that's the only one. He advised Navigating Recovery, basically the grass roots program on Main Street, is not in competition with Horizons at all. He advised they do different parts and they work very well together and there is a synergistic effect with those two programs for sure. Commissioner Mello inquired if that is the same as Recovery Court and Pros. Sawyer advised Recovery Court is another one. Commissioner Mello inquired how that is doing and Pros. Sawyer advised it is doing very well. Commissioner Mello inquired about any setbacks and Pros. Sawyer advised some people don't make it and are terminated from the program, but there are many success stories. Commissioner Mello inquired if it is more successful than unsuccessful. Pros. Sawyer advised he would think so, although he hasn't looked at the numbers. He advised from his perspective or opinion, it's the thing that works. He advised there are people known to people in the room who you would never think would succeed and they have overcome it and are productive members of society. He advised Jaqui Abikoff, the Director of Horizons, at the last Recovery Court hearing had referred to one of the recent graduates and she said she can't wait until he's off probation (after graduating recovery court you're still on probation for a period of time) so he can start working for her as a Recovery Coach, indicating this cannot be done while on probation. He advised that individual is known to all the officers in the room and from a young man, even as a juvenile, there have been issues with him and he now holds a full time job and has been sober for over a year, and it's an amazing turnaround that he has made. Chairman Whittum inquired if a key part of Eric Adams' job was to coordinate and utilize these services. Pros. Sawyer advised yes and that they all work together. He mentioned a recent case of an individual who was not maintaining themselves in the community and the person was at t he jail and was due to be released into a residential treatment program. He advised this person didn't have t he support to get a ride to that program, so Jaqui reached out to Eric through him and we arranged that Eric was able to bring that person to the treatment facility. He advised that is just one example. He advised Eric has contacts with all of the providers in the area. Commissioner Tarr requested to re-visit the overdose numbers and inquired if it's fair to say, knowing that LPD responds to every overdose call and have numbers on that, that Narcan is available to anyone who wants it. He inquired about it being free and if anyone can go and get it or do they have to pay for it. Chief Canfield advised it can be purchased at pharmacies and it's also been given away at different events for free. He advised it is readily accessible and we do see a number of people who have it and possess it. He advised it could quite possibly be a contributing factor in the numbers being down. He advised we've seen more than a handful of overdoses where we have responded and the person has already been given Narcan by friends or family members and they do not want assistance, medical help or anything. He advised that may partially be the reason for the numbers being down. Commissioner Tarr noted some of the incidents of overdose don't necessarily involve a phone call to 911 or to the police department and inquired if they are managing it themselves. Chief Canfield agreed and said what those numbers are he truly does not know. Pros. Sawyer advised some just drive themselves or a loved one drives them to the hospital to the emergency room and don't involve the Fire Department or Police Department. Chief Canfield advised we conducted a search warrant approximately a year and a half ago and we recovered a significant amount of heroin and fentanyl also, but they had several dozen Narcan 6/9  kits that they were giving away at the same time. Commissioner Mello inquired if that was in Massachusetts or here when the dealer was selling the narcotics and they would give them a Narcan kit and Chief Canfield responded that was happening here. 10.C. 2018 Citizen Police Academy Critique & Evaluation Forms Chief Canfield advised the Citizen Police Academy wrapped up last month. He advised the packet contains the critiques and evaluations of the academy and they all speak highly of it. He noted one of the biggest complaints is that it's not enough time and not long enough. He advised it really changes their insight into the police department, seeing what we do and meeting the different officers and detectives who came in and taught, and they came away with a whole different understanding of what the job of law enforcement encompasses. He advised overall it was all very positive feedback and nice to see. Chairman Whittum inquired if there has been any thought about moving it from ten week to maybe twelve or fifteen weeks. Chief Canfield responded we can look into that, but it's a stretch for getting people to teach. Chairman Whittum noted the comments were all positive and terrific Commissioner Tarr noted there were several commenters who remarked about the simulator. He inquired if this was simunitions. Chief Canfield responded that it's a simulate that we purchased on a grant approximately seven years ago, so it's a little bit antiquated at this point. He advised it's kept on the third floor and is computer driven and is a use of force simulator, so it can put officers into different use of force scenarios with decision making options. He advised that as part of that, there are firearms that contain lasers that are used to interact with the video screen and the training simulator. He advised the lasers are outdated, so they were not registering properly. He advised that is why it was down. He advised we have since looked into purchasing several replacement lasers that work with the guns. Lt. Finogle advised there is a company that we recently spoke with that can provide a laser package that is better than the one we got many years ago and which will work with the equipment we have. He advised we are awaiting a quote from them. Commissioner Tarr inquired if it is the intention to get it back up on-line and Chief Canfield advised yes. Commissioner Mello inquired if those who hadn't gotten to ride along have done so yet. Lt. Simmons advised not all of them have gone and he believes one has done so since the academy and he believes there are a couple of others. He advised it was due to when their schedules allowed them to go. He advised at the same time this was going on, the Lakes Region Leadership class was also going on, so all of those participants ride also. He advised it was hard to get people out there during that time. He indicated all of them will get the opportunity. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE 7/9  The next Regular or Special Meeting date was January 16, 2019 was confirmed. 14. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 15. CITIZEN COMMENTS Dennis Lintz of Laconia approached the podium and advised he came across a story about the Salem Police Department being audited reference a pattern of mismanaging internal investigations and ignoring and discouraging citizens' complaints. He advised it is known that he filed two here, indicating Lt. Finogle was the recipient of the one in 2016, which actually predicted that if certain things didn't change as far as policy of the police department, that the crime rate was going to rise, but also inadvertently predicted some of the drug related deaths that have occurred in the community. He inquired to move this forward more, come April 1st he intends to file another grievance, but wishes to find out what the actual procedure for this department is, since both of his have failed. Chairman Whittum requested Chief Canfield respond. Chief Canfield advised that this can be talked about off line, but it starts with a complaint to the Watch Supervisor at t he Police Station. Chief Canfield reiterated that Mr. Lintz can come down to the Police Department and speak with a supervisor and file a complaint and write out a statement indicating what his complaint is in his own writing. Chairman Whittum advised Mr. Lintz's two minutes are up, but the Chief has responded that he should go to the PD and sit down face to face has addressed that. 16. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According To RSA 91-A:3, II) Chairman Whittum inquired if there is a need for Non-Public Session and Chief Canfield responded yes. RSA 91-A:3II(a) - The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee or the investigation of any charges against him/her, unless the employee affected (1) has a right to a meeting, and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted. On a Motion by Commissioner Tarr, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, in accordance with RSA 91-A:3II(a), the Laconia Police Commission entered into Non-Public Session at 3:28 p.m. At 4:15 p.m., the Non-Public Session ended on a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Tarr, with a unanimous vote to maintain the minutes as confidential, in accordance with RSA 91-A:3,III. 8/9 17. ADJOURNMENT On a Motion by Commissioner Tarr, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 4:16 p.m. 9/9