Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JUNE 17, 2020 3:00 P.M. 6/17/2020 - 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 Marsh. 4. ROLL CALL 4.A. Chairman Whittum recognized Commissioners present - Chairman Douglas Whittum, Commissioner Frank Mello and Commissioner Scott Davis. 4.B. Chairman Whittum recognized Staff present - Chief Matthew Canfield and Councilor Bruce Cheney 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. Resignations/Retirement No discussion. 5.C. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Chief - Support Division Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised Captain Graton is wrapping up the year end reports for the budget, which will be under as usual. He advised will meet our budget and be within the guidelines that were set forth in that. In addition, he advised we are working on several grants, one of which is a COVID related grant for equipment purchase and details will be brought to the Commission when they are available. He also advised we are also finalizing the acceptance of the COPS Hiring Grant. 6.B. Chief - Operations Division Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised Lieutenant Finogle worked with a group of various officers and employees to develop a new deployment schedule that officers had really taken a liking to during our temporary changes for the COVID pandemic. He advised this was presented to him last Friday and seems to be a schedule that is very workable. He indicated Lieutenant Finogle is working to finalize that and get it into some type of workable format as far as bidding shifts and such. He advised we hope to roll that schedule out starting July 13th and it will be run for a six month trial period to make sure there aren't any significant issues with it when we actually put it into operation. He advised it allows for a little more time off for the 1/4  officers, but also provides for more officers at certain peak times. He indicated the entire committee did a really good job and worked very hard and came up with a good product. 6.B.i. Hirings Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised we are currently full staff and have a few people in the academy. He indicated there is nothing new at this time for hirings. He indicated there is a written test coming up in August at Great Bay Community College in Dover. He advised we have given some consideration to doing our own written test to speed things up a little bit in order to fill the COPS Hiring Grant positions. 7. COMMISSION ACTION 7.A. Acceptance of minutes from previous meeting On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting minutes of May 20, 2020 were accepted as distributed with no discussion. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS 8.A. Department Monthly Highlights Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Department Monthly Highlights report and noted there were no volunteer hours due to the COVID restrictions. 8.B. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics report. He advised detectives are still working in a patrol function, but when days allow, have resumed partial responsibilities up in BCI. Commissioner Davis inquired what the redactions are. Chief Canfield advised the video redactions are for the body cameras and in-car cameras. He advised that when a case is brought to court, people who are not involved in the case itself, such as children or people in the background, need to be redacted or "blurred out". He advised the whole video is watched through and those not involved in the case are blurred out. He indicated this also includes license plates or anything else that could be identifiers. 8.C. Budget Reports Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised the budget is on track and we will come in under budget. He indicated we are just wrapping up some year end things and the budget concludes June 30th. 8.D. Monthly Traffic Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Statistics report. No further discussion. 8.E. Monthly Fleet Report Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised they are just finishing up the cars that came in a little while ago from last year. He indicated Ford was backlogged due to the transition from sedans to SUVS and it took almost a year to get the vehicles, but all of them should be on line very shortly. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised we received a very nice thank you letter from the St. Francis Home for helping out with a Mother's Day parade, as well as one from a resident of the Manchester Street and Willow Street area, who has seen a lot of activity in that area. We have conducted a lot of extra patrols to curb that. He advised the resident was thrilled with the assistance provided. He also indicated a thank you letter was received for a house check that we conducted all winter for some residents of Robinwood Lane. 2/4 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised that as noted above, we conducted a Mother's Day parade at the St. Francis Home. He indicated this was a way for family members of residents to at least see their loved ones who are in the nursing home. He advised they were all contained in their vehicles and met at Stafford Oil. He indicated we assisted with traffic control on Court Street. He advised the line of cars went up the driveway to the St. Francis Home, around the loop, and then all of the residents were brought outside, socially distanced, so they could at least pass by their family members. He advised we are going to assist again with a a Father's Day parade this coming Sunday. Chief Canfield reviewed the Overdose Statistics Report and noted they were down considerably. Chief Canfield advised last Sunday we partnered with an organization called Above the Clouds, which is a group out of Massachusetts and consists of all pilots. He advised they typically look to involve children on their birthdays and take them up to learn about flying and what it is like to fly. He indicated that with the COVID restrictions they have not been able to do this. He indicated they are now expanding up into this area on a child's birthday they have a ground crew who goes out to make signs and they usually have a helicopter fly over their house to do a birthday celebration. He indicated last Sunday, in partnership with them, we conducted a small parade of cruisers for them. He indicated he has talked with the promoter, who lives in Sanbornton, and we are looking to continue this beyond the COVID pandemic and make a positive impact with kids. Chief Canfield advised that July 7th, 8th and 9th is our National Re-Accreditation. He indicated every year they evaluate about 25% of our nearly 500 policies through National Accreditation. He advised that in addition to that, every four years we undergo the re-accreditation process, which this year will be held on the above dates. He indicated typically they send out two assessors and they are with the department for the entire three days; however, due to COVID, they will not be coming to the department and will be conducting everything through ZOOM meetings. He advised there will be different interviews with employees, everything from Labor management, relations, specialities, to how we interact with the community. He indicated the schedule is still being hammered out, but it looks like Tuesday will be a community meeting, so members of the public will be invited to speak on behalf of the department. Chief Canfield advised we look forward to this and National Accreditation is something, especially during these current times of turbulence in the Police world across our country, that is even more important, as it does hold our officers accountable and it increases our professionalism and the ability to do our job well. He advised this has entailed a tremendous amount of work by MIS Robin Moyer, who does all of our accreditation work, and this will be a all hands on deck process. Commissioner Davis inquired how many years between processes. Chief Canfield advised the actually on-site process takes place every four years, but that they evaluate 25% of our standards every year. Commissioner Davis inquired if this is the full on-site scheduled and Chief Canfield advised yes. Chief Canfield advised the actual accreditation certification is good for four years, but you have to meet the annual review every year. Commissioner Mello advised that would be a good article for the Daily Sun and Chief Canfield agreed. Chairman Whittum inquired how many departments in the State of New Hampshire are certified through CALEA. Chief Canfield advised he is not sure exactly, but believes it to be less than two dozen. He advised it is a time consuming process to get policies in place and change procedures and the way things are done to meet those standards. He advised once a department reaches that level, it just becomes the norm to follow those standards. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 3/4 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Davis noted the parade held for the graduates of the high school was great and Chief Canfield agreed. Chief Canfield advised it was very well organized and the principal and superintendent did a great job. He advised it was amazing to see the amount of support in this community and that is what makes Laconia so good. He indicated along the whole parade route there were people out cheering and just being happy for these kids to graduate from high school. Commissioner Davis advised his wife noted next year everyone should be out there, as the entire community pays for the children to go to school and it was nice to recognize their twelve years of schooling. Chief Canfield noted the parade loop was big, traveling from the high school, up Old North Main Street, all the way up around Elm Street and back, and there were people along the entire parade route. 14. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular or Special Meeting date of July 15, 2020 was confirmed. 15. CITIZEN COMMENTS 16. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According To RSA 91-A:3, II) On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, in accordance with RSA 91-A:3,II, the Laconia Police Commission entered into Non-Public Session at 3:19 p.m. Roll call vote to enter Non-Public Session: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes Commissioner Frank Mello Yes Commissioner Scott Davis Yes At 3:38 p.m., the Non-Public Session ended on a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, with a unanimous vote. Public Session reconvened at 3:38 p.m. Chairman Whittum entertained a Motion to seal the Minutes, moved by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously. Roll call vote to seal minutes: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes Commissioner Frank Mello Yes Commissioner Scott Davis Yes 17. ADJOURNMENT On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 3:39 pm 4/4