Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 19, 2020 3:00 P.M. 8/19/2020 - 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. 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. 5.D. Hirings Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised we will be conducting a recruitment process for the one open position that we have. He advised it is up in the air if the college will be doing the testing; however, we will do our own if they do not so that we can get that position filled hopefully with a start date of January, 2021. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Chief - Support Division Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised advised we have been busy with organizing fall training, which will consist of the Dragon Dictation Software that we have, ultimately expediting the way officers do their reports, as well fall firearms. He advised that in addition they have been working with Ossipee Mountain Electronics to wrap up the final stages of the new radio system. He indicated they have been doing radio tests and fine tuning it in different locations and areas that were a little weak. He also advised the new cars funded in this year's budget have been ordered with an expected arrival date sometime in October. He advised the employees assigned to the Drone Program (UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) underwent training, so we now have five instructors that are headed by Sergeant Rob Sedgley. He noted this is a pretty impressive unit and he believes there will be many uses in order to enhance officer safety. 6.A.i. Orders & Bulletins 6.B. Chief - Operations Division Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised they have been very busy and calls for service have been up for the past month by 11.15%. He advised they have been lightly planning for  Motorcycle Week, which starts this Saturday. he indicated the 12-hour patrol shifts that officers are working are going very well and have been very well received by the officers. 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 July 22, 2020 were accepted as distributed with no further 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. No further discussion. 8.B. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Criminal Investigative Unit statistics report. He advised the unit has made a significant amount of buys using a confidential informant, which resulted in the seizure of 70 grams of fentanyl and one gram of cocaine, as well as the seizure of a Volkswagen Jetta. He advised that in addition to this, they assisted an outside agency and made an arrest and seizure of 100 grams of ecstacy pills, 2100 Xanax pills, one pound of marijuana, a significant number of LSD, mushrooms, THC edibles, and seized a large sum of Bitcoin dark web money. He advised they are also working with the FBI Safe Streets Program to organize a purchase of stolen handguns in the area. Chief Canfield also advised they area working on a home invasion that occurred on Tyler Street several months back, during which an elderly man was beaten up and had guns stolen from his residence. He advised this has given us ties to a street gang called The Bloods out of Boston and they are working with multiple jurisdictions, including Concord PD and the FBI, on that case. Chairman Whittum inquired what the two computer related crimes entail. Chief Canfield advised he believes those are child pornography cases where they conducted a search warrant for what originated with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He advised they are out on the computer constantly searching for these things and, if they find something, they bring it to that jurisdiction and we can either assist or initiate the search warrant. 8.C. Budget Reports Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised he hasn't received the final numbers, but anticipates we will be under budget from last year. Commissioner Davis inquired if any leftover money from the previous budget year can be rolled over into the new year and Chief Canfield advised not without prior approval. He advised typically money is not rolled over. 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 No discussion. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised we received several nice letters in support of police officers and the department as a whole in relationship to what is going on nationally with policing across the country. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Canfield reviewed the Overdose Statistics report. Chairman Whittum requested Chief Canfield speak to the impact the PET position has has on this. Chief Canfield advised he can get some statistics from Officer Adams for next month, but he does do incredible work and helps out and saves a lot of people. He advised he spoke with one gentleman last week about his daughter, who is suffering from a substance abuse issue. He indicated it was great just to make that connection to Eric Adams, who has connections to get help and resources. He indicated he saw this man's face light up, because his wife cautioned him about even coming to talk with the police, saying they were not going to help or do anything for their daughter and just look to lock her up. He advised he came down anyway against her wishes, and to see his face light up and have him speak about how enthusiastic Eric was with helping to  get the resources. Chief Canfield advised he actually reached out to him yesterday to see how it was going, but he hasn't heard back from him. He advised this is very good work on Eric's part and is something he can be proud of. Chief Canfield also advised Eric Adams was recognized with 2020 Outside Community Partner Award by Lakes Region Community Services. He advised there will be a virtual Zoom donor appreciation dinner where he will be honored. He advised this is a testament to his good work. He also indicated hat Eric will be received another award this Saturday night from the Elks and he asked Commissioner Mello to speak on this. Commissioner Mello advised Eric and another officer from the Dover Police Department were the only two for this year that they had and it was decided to give both an award for what they do. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 14. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular or Special Meeting date of September 16, 2020 was confirmed. 15. CITIZEN COMMENTS No comments. 16. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According To RSA 91-A:3) RSA 91-A:3II(c) - Matters which, if discussed in public, would likely affect adversely the reputation of any person, other than a member of this Board, unless such person requests an open meeting. This exemption shall extend to include any application for assistance or tax abatement, or waiver of a fee, fine or other levy, if based on inability to pay or poverty of the applicant. On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, in accordance with RSA 91-A:3II(c), the Laconia Police Commission entered into Non-Public Session at 3:16 pm. At 3:36 pm, the Non-Public Session ended on a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, with a unanimous vote. Public Session reconvened at 3:36 pm. Chairman Whittum inquired if there was a Motion to seal the minutes. No Motion was made. On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the meeting adjourned at 3:37 pm. 17. ADJOURNMENT