Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MAY 19, 2021 3:00 P.M. 5/19/2021 - 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 Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. 5.A. Commendations & Awards Chief Canfield advised last week was Police Week and pizza lunches and t-shirts were provided to the staff, which he believes was very much appreciated. He indicated we will hold our Annual Awards Ceremony in October to coincide with National Police Appreciation Week. 5.B. Resignations/Retirement No discussion. 5.C. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. 6.A. Chief - Support Division https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=2280&agendaID=1512 1/5  Chief Canfield advised they are busy wrapping up the year end for the budget, which appears to be coming in considerably under budget. They have also been finishing up the radio project with funding received a couple of years ago. Ossipee Mountain was in dispatch yesterday and today putting in the finishing touches. Captain Graton has been working with the Finance Department to close that out and wrap it up soon. All of our cruisers that we received last year are finally on line after significant delays due to COVID. 6.A.i. Orders & Bulletins 6.B. Chief - Operations Division Chief Canfield advised this is the real busy time of year for Operations. They have been working on planning the Wake the Lake event, which is basically a block party in the Weirs on Lakeside by Tower Hill Tavern and will take place this weekend. They have been working on planning for Motorcycle Week, which over time has developed and the City Council has just agreed to allow beer tents to happen, so essentially it will be a normal Bike Week. It may even be a busier Bike Week than normal, just because people want to get out and about and certainly is weather dependent as well. They have also been working on 4th of July events, which looks like it will be a normal 4th of July as well with the parade and activities at Opechee with fireworks. Finally, the scheduling software to do electronic scheduling versus an Excel spreadsheet has been implemented and everyone has received training, as well as the dispatch Pro-QA software spoken of previously is now operational. 6.B.i. Hirings No discussion. 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 April 21, 2021 were accepted as distributed. 7.B. Out-of-State School(s) Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised this is an association he belongs to as a graduate of the FBI National Academy. This is a national conference that he has attended many times in past. He indicated one of the biggest things about the National Academy, aside from the training, is the networking and on-going training venues such as this. The New England FBI Academy is being held in Meredith this year in June and this particular conference is in Orlando, Florida. He advised he is requesting permission to attend this conference. 7.B.i. FBI National Academy Associates Annual Training Conference - Chief Canfield On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the Out-of-State School, FBI National Academy Associates Annual Training Conference, requested by Chief Matthew Canfield, was approved. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=2280&agendaID=1512 2/5  8.A. Department Monthly Highlights Chief Canfield reviewed the Department Monthly Highlight report, noting that calls for service are up significantly from last year about 38%. He indicated these numbers are a little skewed due to COVID, bringing numbers down, but he is keeping an eye on the numbers and watching the trend. Commissioner Davis inquired if there is any particular area that is more than another for calls for service and Chief Canfield advised it has been super busy and it was amazing how many serious crimes we responded to in just one weekend recently. He is not sure what to attribute it to, but will keep an eye on it. 8.B. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chief Canfield reviewed the Criminal Investigative Unit statistics and advised they have been busy as well. Commissioner Mello inquired if the new cases of sex offender registrations is due to new people moving to Laconia. Chief Canfield advised it can be due to new people moving into Laconia, but could also be due to others who are required to register quarterly due to the tier that they are at, so a combination of both. Chairman Whittum inquired what will become of the offenders housed at the State Facility. Chief Canfield advised he is not aware of what their plan is, as he does not believe there is another facility like that in this State. 8.C. Budget Reports Chief Canfield advised we are under budget at this point and Captain Graton is collating final numbers and he is confident we will make our budget. 8.D. Monthly Traffic Statistics Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Statistics report. Commissioner Mello inquired if there have been a lot of accidents at the intersection of Union Avenue and South Main Street, as he recently witnessed a car make a right turn at that location when the light was red and it was moving right along. Chief Canfield advised we have some Highway Safety Grant funds to target that stuff heavily this spring and summer, particularly crosswalk violations, right turn on red when someone is in the crosswalk, and then cell phone use. In addition, last year we were granted the additional position for a traffic unit. Commissioner Davis inquired about the crosswalk lights and when it is flashing orange after red, can a vehicle turn on that. Chief Canfield advised that once it starts flashing, turning from red to orange, and there is no one in the crosswalk, you can turn. You cannot turn when flashing when someone is in the crosswalk. 8.E. Monthly Fleet Report Chairman Whittum noted the new pickup looks nice. Commissioner Mello inquired what it will be used for and Chief Canfield advised it will be utilized for towing the signs, transportation of range necessities, and large pieces of evidence. https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=2280&agendaID=1512 3/5  9. CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chief Canfield advised we received a nice note of thanks for assistance provided at a fire on Union Avenue. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Canfield reviewed the Overdose Statistics report. He advised the numbers do not reflect an overdose death from the other night. He indicated overdose deaths are trending in the right direction, but we are seeing a lot more meth use, which we don't see resulting in deaths, but we do see resulting in more violent crimes. Chief Canfield also advised the following: Eric Adams has been working with Department of Justice to finalize the grant they applied for last year. The Attorney General's Office has a desire to take Eric's program and put it Statewide, which would allow funding not only for Eric's position to basically allow him to be a Statewide Coordinator for that program and teach other departments, but it would also backfill his position for us as well. He thinks we have fared better for it this year compared to last year, so hopefully that works out well, as that position is invaluable with the work that Eric has been doing. Also, Eric will be at the next Commission Meeting to speak about some of the projects he has been working on. He noted Eric works really hard and has taken on tasks way beyond what the position started as. We are also in the process of applying for a COPS Grant in collaboration with the school system to enhance school safety and security and police training for us to be able to respond to an active shooter event should it ever occur. He advised this will be 100% funded by the COPS Grant. He would like to highlight the work our employees do every single day. He indicated last week Captain Graton and Lieutenant Hubbard recognized a need to paint the lobby, as it hasn't been painted since we moved in and it was pretty dirty. He advised they took the whole week and painted the entire lobby and put a sign up. This would not be possible without hiring someone to do it, so it shows how willing are employees are to make things happen. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 14. CITIZEN COMMENTS Chief Canfield advised Councilor Cheney apologizes for not being here due to some conflicts with his schedule, but asked that the Commission let him know if there is anything to pass on to him, as he will be meeting with Councilor Cheney. 15. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular or Special Meeting date of June 16, 2021 was confirmed. 16. ADJOURNMENT https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=2280&agendaID=1512 4/5  On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 3:21 pm. https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=2280&agendaID=1512 5/5