Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2023 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 10/26/2023 - 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. Introduction of Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas T. Zazzi Chief Canfield introduced Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Zazzi. Nick is a resident of Northfield, New Hampshire, where he lives with his wife Sunny and their two year old daughter Bella. He grew up in the Hudson Valley Region of New York State near West Point. Nick's interest in Criminal Justice first began in 2011 when he was studying at a local community college in New York. After obtaining his Associates Degree, Nick spent the remainder of his college years in Baltimore, Maryland, studying International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. There, Nick developed an interest in political science and began studying Mandarin Chinese. After graduating with his undergraduate degree in 2015, Nick spent the next three years living in Shanghai, China, where he worked as an education consultant, helping Chinese high school students that wished to attend college in the United States. In doing so, he guided them through the application process, provided general career and academic  began studying Mandarin Chinese. After graduating with his undergraduate degree in 2015, Nick spent the next three years living in Shanghai, China, where he worked as an education consultant, helping Chinese high school students that wished to attend college in the United States. In doing so, he guided them through the application process, provided general career and academic advice, and taught writing and US culture classes. After helping many students achieve their educational goals, Nick set his sights on continuing his own education as well. In 2018, Nick returned to the United States to attend law school at Cornell Law. in law school, Nick focused much of his course work on areas such as Criminal Law and Tax Law, and participated in clinical work with the New York State Attorney General's Office in Syracuse and worked as a summer associate at the firm Well, Gotshal & Manges. After graduating law school, Nick sought many opportunities to quickly gain substantive legal experience through a judicial clerkship. With this in mind, Nick became a judicial law clerk for the Belknap County Superior Court, serving a two-year term under both the Honorable Elizabeth Leonard and James O'Neill, III. Now, Nick is excited to join the Laconia Police Department as an Assistant Prosecutor, to utilize his experience and continue to grow as an attorney. We are very happy to have Nick join us! 5.B. Commendations & Awards No discussion. 5.C. Resignations/Retirement Chairman Whittum inquired if an exit interview is conducted with employees when they leave. Chief Canfield advised he does meet with each person before they leave. 5.C.i. Retirement of Master Patrol Officer Joseph Marquis Chief Canfield advised Officer Joseph Marquis retired at the beginning of the month and has already moved to Florida. 5.C.ii. Resignation of Patrol Officer Anna Brewer-Croteau Chief Canfield advised Patrol Officer Anna Croteau has resigned to spend more quality time with her family and has taken a job at New Hampshire Police Standards & Training to allow her a better schedule. 5.D. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Chief - Support Division Chief Canfield reported the following: They have been busy as usual working on a number of new grant applications and grant maintenance. A lot of these federal grants are very labor intensive. Once the grant is accepted, the follow up and maintenance work is very significant until the grant is completed.  Chief Canfield reported the following: They have been busy as usual working on a number of new grant applications and grant maintenance. A lot of these federal grants are very labor intensive. Once the grant is accepted, the follow up and maintenance work is very significant until the grant is completed. They are still working on the implementation of the Imprivata software, which is a multi- factor authentication software to improve our computer security systems. They are also working on the implementation of First Arriving, which is a forward thinking notification system within the police department and a way to share accolades of our employees and give employee feedback in a public positive manner. 6.A.i. Orders and Bulletins 6.B. Chief - Operations Division Chief Canfield reported the following: They have been busy and being shorthanded has made it even busier. They have been working on the winter patrol schedule , which is being finalized and will be out soon. The Pumpkinfest Operational Plan is in effect for this weekend. It looks there will be good weather and we have a few officers assigned there. Of course, the events that took place in Lewiston will have an affect on our security for this, but we're working to adapt that on the fly. We have received the e-bikes that we were able to get through a grant from county ARPA funds, as well as a donation from WOW Trail Board and bike officers have been trained on them and they are fully operational. We had a couple of officers out on them yesterday and we will continue to use those to patrol the downtown area and the WOW Trail as long as the weather allows. 6.B.i. Hirings Chairman Whittum inquired the status of hiring and Chief Canfield advised we currently have a couple of people in the background process and the hope is to present at least one candidate at the next meeting for consideration of hire. 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 August 23, 2023 were accepted as distributed. 7.B. Out-of-State School(s) Chief Canfield advised he has a request for Captain Michael Finogle to attend the Use of Force Summit in Connecticut. This training is being conducted by Joseph Daigle, who is a former Connecticut State Trooper and is now an attorney and runs a law firm that has an expertise in use of force. We have used him as a consultant on some of our use of force policies. We have sent people in the past, as it very beneficial, and the total cost is $1,429.80. On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the above training request was approved. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS  $1,429.80. On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, and passed unanimously, the above training request was approved. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS 8.A. Department Monthly Activity Highlights Chief Canfield reviewed the Department Monthly Highlights. No further discussion. 8.B. Criminal Investigative Unit Monthly Activity Report Chief Canfield reviewed the Criminal Investigative Unit Monthly Activity Report. He noted that all detectives are assigned one day a month to work uniform patrol. This was designed to help supplement the lack of personnel in patrol right now. Commission Davis inquired what the Trans Union check is and Chief Canfield advised it is typically used for felony investigations as a way of cross checking someone's background. 8.C. Budget Reports Chief Canfield advised we are currently 25% through the year and our budget is looking good. In looking at the overtime budget, it appears relatively high at 89% spent; however, it should be kept in mind that the overtime line item was cut in half last year to $70,000 from $150,000 in the previous year. The actual money spent is in line with other years; however, the percentage his high due to the line item being significantly reduced. 8.D. Monthly Traffic Report Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Report. No further discussion. 8.E. Monthly Fleet Report Chief Canfield advised we are currently waiting on equipment for the new cars. There has been a delay with the lighting company, but hopefully the lights will be here in the next month. As soon as they come in, the cars will be outfitted and on line. Commissioner Davis inquired if we are storing these new vehicles in the back fenced in area and Chief Canfield advised yes. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO/FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chief Canfield advised we received a nice thank you letter from a community member for helping her out, as well as one from the Plymouth Police Chief for sending officers up to assist with their Pirate Party, which is an unsanctioned event that takes place every year. There was also a nice letter to the editor thanking Officer Sullivan for finding a wallet and going out of his way to locate the owner. This wallet contained over $800 and the owner was very thankful to get it back. Chairman Whittum noted the Laconia Police Department has good relationships with surrounding agencies as noted by sending officers to assist the Plymouth Police Department. Chief Canfield agreed, advising we work very collaboratively with all of our law enforcement partners, especially those close to home. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT  surrounding agencies as noted by sending officers to assist the Plymouth Police Department. Chief Canfield agreed, advising we work very collaboratively with all of our law enforcement partners, especially those close to home. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Canfield advised that before he begins his Chief's Report, he would like to take minute to reflect on the tragedy that unfolded last night in Lewiston, Maine. This was yet another horrific attack in America and this time way too close to home. As our hearts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and their loved ones, he is also thinking about the brave and valiant men and women in law enforcement who responded to this tragedy and now who must continue the grueling search for the killer at an active scene as of right now. We stand with our law enforcement partners in Maine and will provide any assistance that is needed, including our SWAT team that has been in communications with authorities as of this morning. This tragedy once again highlights the incredibly important job that our officers do and the very real dangers that they face each and every day to protect our communities. To run to the sound of gunfire with the responsibility to face an active killer, most of the time with limited initial resources, makes this a job unlike any other. It takes incredible valor, bravery, commitment and training. He is very proud of our officers here in the City of Laconia, as well as our entire department. We truly have one of the best, if not the best, police departments in New Hampshire. That is directly attributed to the quality of our people. He is confident that they will respond appropriately should such a tragedy occur here in Laconia. He would like to extend best wishes and safety to all of those in law enforcement who continue to seek the person responsible for these horrific murders and wish them Godspeed in bringing this to a quick and safe resolution. He continued by reporting: On a positive note, we celebrated Red Ribbon Week yesterday in collaboration with the Laconia High School. Red Ribbon Week began in 1986 after the murder of a DEA agent who was killed in the line of duty. Since then, it has become known as an anti-drug and anti-alcohol theme, specifically toward young people. The high school created a red ribbon with students on the athletic field and we brought a motorcycle up there and the National Guard Blackhawk flew over and took aerial photos. Speaking of law enforcement partnerships, the National Guard Counter Drug Program has a very robust support system for law enforcement and that was why they were involved in this and were happy to support the effort with us. The regional accident reconstruction team conducted a training in Gilford at the airport on September 13th. We are very involved with this team and account for a lot of their leadership. Sergeant Carlson put together and lead the training and it was a really good day for training to test all of their skills. We participated in a mass casualty training at the Taylor Home, St. Francis Home and the Belknap County Nursing Home. This was a collaborative effort and involved Golden View Healthcare in Meredith as well. It was run by Lakes Region Partnership for Public Health in collaboration with NH Homeland Security. He attended a Boys & Girls Club fundraiser and awareness event, as well as a Hate Crimes seminar in Concord, which was sponsored by the Attorney General's Office. He was asked to be a panelist by the Assistant Commissioner of Safety, along with Chief Mark Newport from the Portsmouth Police Department and Supervisory Agent Tim DeMann from the FBI. It was a really good and diverse group of people and had good discussion on hate crimes and anti- semitism. We have seen that recently here in Laconia and with what is happening oversees, he anticipates we will see a big uptick in that in New Hampshire and particularly our country.  He attended a Boys & Girls Club fundraiser and awareness event, as well as a Hate Crimes seminar in Concord, which was sponsored by the Attorney General's Office. He was asked to be a panelist by the Assistant Commissioner of Safety, along with Chief Mark Newport from the Portsmouth Police Department and Supervisory Agent Tim DeMann from the FBI. It was a really good and diverse group of people and had good discussion on hate crimes and anti- semitism. We have seen that recently here in Laconia and with what is happening oversees, he anticipates we will see a big uptick in that in New Hampshire and particularly our country. He was recently appointed by the New Hampshire Chiefs of Police Association to the New Hampshire Homeland Security Grants Review Committee and they will be having several meetings coming up in November. During the week of November 6th, we have our annual CALEA accreditation review. This process has changed a bit and now includes four focus areas that includes interviews with employees connected with those areas. This is in addition to the approximately 100 random files that they review. It just lends credibility to the accreditation process and the way we look at other law enforcement agencies. The difference that national accreditation creates in the department with the standards and the way the department runs sets it aside. We see a lot of issues with national policing and he is a firm believer that if they were nationally accredited that a lot of those problems could be avoided. October is Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness month. At the beginning of the month officers wore the pink patches to recognize breast cancer and the second half of this month they are wearing the purple patches on the left shoulder. This was an idea brought forward by one of our officers and it was embraced by the department and people are proud to wear those patches. In reference to the Spidr Tech technology that gives automatic text message updates to callers, whether the officer will be delayed or looking for satisfaction feedback, this quarter we sent out a total of 5,893 messages from the period of July 1st through September 30th. One category he would like to point out is the survey invites. We sent out 1,165 survey invites to victims of crimes, who had the opportunity to complete them, and our completion rate is 25.3%. In the world of surveys, that number is extremely high. In talking with the company, they don't see that high percentage very often. The average quarter score for customer satisfaction was well over 4%, coming in at 4.49, 4.64, 4.43 and 4.55 out of a scale of 5.0. To have those scores consistently high is pretty incredible. In looking at the satisfaction survey on the quarterly breakdown, 74% of the respondents were very satisfied, 14% were satisfied, 6% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 3% were somewhat satisfied, and 4% were very dissatisfied. Again, those numbers are very good from a survey standpoint. In reference to overdose statistics, we have responded to 37 overdoses year to date with 7 suspected overdoses, 6 of which have been confirmed and we are waiting on the results for the 7th, as it just occurred no too long ago. The year to date line of duty deaths is currently at 98 across the nation, 41 as a result of gunfire, 29 auto-related, 18 medical related and 10 for other reasons. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS No discussion. 13. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 14. CITIZEN COMMENTS 13. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 14. CITIZEN COMMENTS Councilor Cheney addressed the Commission. He advised that based on his professional life, he recognizes how important it is how many organizations and committees Chief Canfield serves on. It is an indicator that he is above average. He advised he wanted to bring to the attention of the Commission that he has received the usual number of questions about numbers dropping off and he recognizes the Chief has explained that a reduction in manpower creates some of that problem. But we need to do everything we can to bring those numbers back up. He has had questions from several Council members and apparently a number of years ago a councilor added a patrol person for walking Main Street during the day. He has been receiving complaints that its not consistent. Again, he recognizes it may well be due to manning levels that creates some of the problem. He would hope the Commission would try to do what they can with either overtime or something to try to get some of that walking patrol back. He thinks it would be helpful from a number of prospectives. Seeing a police officer walking makes people a little more confident in their police department paying attention. He also advised he knows the Commission is aware he has made some requests from the Council to study economic issues surrounding personnel. He indicated he doesn't think it will be instantaneous, but he is going to push very hard to see to it that it's not dragged out over a year or more. One member of the Council has asked that we hire a company to do a survey in- house without having to spend a lot of money on someone from outside the organization. He and the Chief have talked and he knows the wage issue is significant. He wants to assure the Commission and ask for their support as they move forward in talking with other Councilors if they have opportunity to express the critical need. He indicated it is not just the PD, but it's Fire and Public Works, and he will keep moving on that and has no intention on allowing it to drift, because the one thing we have is quality employees and we need to hang on to them. Lastly, he wanted to point out that there have been some concerns expressed about Proforma as it relates to going into Executive Session for City Boards and Commissions. He requests the Commission review 91-A to assure they are meeting all of the criteria. 15. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular meeting date of November 15, 2023 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, and (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 3:35 pm. Roll Call Vote to enter Non-Public Session: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes Commissioner Frank Mello Yes  Roll Call Vote to enter Non-Public Session: Chairman Douglas Whittum Yes Commissioner Frank Mello Yes Commissioner Scott Davis Yes At 3:57 pm., the Non-Public Session ended on a Motion by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Mello, with a unanimous vote, and Public Session reconvened. On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the Non-Public Session minutes were sealed because it was determined that divulgences of this information likely would render a proposed action ineffective. Roll Call Vote to Seal the Minutes of the Non-Public Session: 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 3:58 p.m.