Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 17, 2022 Meeting took place at 3:00 p.m. in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber, Laconia City Hall, 45 Beacon Street East, Laconia, New Hampshire 8/17/2022 - 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. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS  5.C. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Chief - Support Division Chief Canfield reported the following: They have been wrapping up the year end budget and received the command post vehicle, which they are still in the process of outfitting. They have also been working with the City Electrician, Public Works and a fence company on the perimeter fence to surround the building. Commissioner Davis inquired if the fencing will be lit. Chief Canfield responded that there will not be a lot of added lighting necessary, as the lighting already present will be adequate and we want to be considerate of our neighbors. 6.A.i. Orders & Bulletins 6.B. Chief - Operations Division Chief Canfield reported the following: They have had a busy summer with a number of extra patrols and addressing some issues in some of the parks. They have been working on the Ironman event, which will take place on September 16th, which will be a max deployment date where everyone in the department for the most part will be working. They have also been working on the fall events, to include a number of events on Lakeside Avenue and PumpkinFest. 6.B.i. Hirings 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 25, 2022 were accepted as distributed. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS 8.A. Department Monthly Highlights Chief Canfield reviewed the Department Monthly Activity report. No further discussion. 8.B. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chief Canfield reviewed the Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics. He also advised next month the drug unit detectives will be working at least one night a week in an effort to ramp up some of our drug enforcement. Commissioner Davis inquired where we are with overdose deaths? Chief Canfield responded at this point they are down. He had discussed this earlier with Detective Adams and right now we stand with three overdose deaths to date, which is down significantly from last year. 8.C. Monthly Traffic Statistics  Commissioner Davis inquired where we are with overdose deaths? Chief Canfield responded at this point they are down. He had discussed this earlier with Detective Adams and right now we stand with three overdose deaths to date, which is down significantly from last year. 8.C. Monthly Traffic Statistics Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Statistics. Commissioner Davis asked if someone observed bad motor vehicle operation, what recourse do they have to deal with that. Chief Canfield advised we have what is called "ready call" for when someone is following the vehicle, where we keep them on phone and then typically the officer tries to get behind them and follow the vehicle to establish a reason for stop. If the caller for some reason cannot stay on phone, the dispatcher collects their name and contact information so that we can obtain a statement so that they can testify to the operation of the vehicle. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO/FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chief Canfield advised we received a nice email from Pam Gaitor recognizing Officer DeNutte for her compassion and professionalism during an unattended death of a family member. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Canfield reported the following: We attended a kids event today in conjunction with the Belknap Mill at Rotary Park. They have a summer program with kids in the park every week and we volunteered to do a Police Day. We went down there with a couple of our vehicles and the motorcycle and we did a safety talk and gave out police cards. This was a really nice event where we were able to interact with approximately fifteen or so children. The Citizens Academy has been scheduled and we are inviting the Commission to speak at opening night. This is a ten week program that runs every Wednesday night from September 14, 2022 through November 16, 2022, with graduation just before Thanksgiving. Hopefully we will have a good turnout for that. National Night Out was a very well attended event and went very well overall. He reviewed the Drug Overdose statistics and noted that deaths are down. In reference to hiring, it remains very competitive and we are working a couple of different avenues to try to fill the new positions we have. We are in the process of doing a background on a dispatch candidate who comes with five years of experience for a department in the southern part of the state and is looking to relocate. It would be a plus for us to get someone with five years of experience. He was part of the U.S. Attorney's Anti-Terrorism Advisory Committee. The meetings had stopped due to COVID, but will be resuming and he will be attending them again. He also continues to work with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force as well. Steve Orton has transitioned well into the P.E.T. Coordinator position and he and Eric Adams work well together. They attend a lot of meetings together and Steve is really picking it up and running with it. He was a good choice for the position. Officer Tyler Rouse has been selected as the new School Resource Officer for the high school. He just attended a School Resource Officer training school in Connecticut and both he and Bryan will be returning to the schools in September.  work well together. They attend a lot of meetings together and Steve is really picking it up and running with it. He was a good choice for the position. Officer Tyler Rouse has been selected as the new School Resource Officer for the high school. He just attended a School Resource Officer training school in Connecticut and both he and Bryan will be returning to the schools in September. Commissioner Davis noted that National Night out was well done and well attended. Chief Canfield noted this event takes a lot of planning and a lot of outreach in the community to make it happen and was due to the hard work of Lieutenant Hubbard, Detective Adams and P.E.T. Orton. Chairman Whittum inquired about an estimate of attendees and Chief Canfield replied we were close to 500 or so. Commissioner Mello noted it was a nice job of set up with the location. Commissioner Mello also inquired if there was an officer who is outstanding in a particular field who Chief Canfield could recommend for an award by the Elks Club. Chief Canfield advised he will give it some thought and come up with a recommendation. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 14. CITIZEN COMMENTS No citizen attendance. 15. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular Meeting date of September 14, 2022 was confirmed. 16. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According To RSA 91-A:3,II (A)) 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 the right to a meeting, (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted. On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, 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 3:19 pm. Roll Call Vote to enter Non-Public Session: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes  Non-Public Session at 3:19 pm. Roll Call Vote to enter Non-Public Session: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes Commissioner Frank Mello Yes Commissioner Scott Davis Yes At 4:09pm, the Non-Public Session ended on a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, with a unanimous vote. Public Session reconvened at 4:09 pm. Chairman Whittum entertained a Motion to Seal the Minutes, moved by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, because it would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of this Board. Roll Call Vote to Seal the Minutes: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes Commissioner Frank Mello Yes Commissioner Scott Davis Yes 17. ADJOURNMENT On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm.