Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 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 11/15/2023 - 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. Commendations & Awards No discussion. 5.B. Resignations/Retirement Chief Canfield advised Detective John Howe has submitted his notice of retirement effective February 1st after 23 years of service. He is a valuable employee, having worked for us for a long time, and he will be missed. 5.C. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion.  worked for us for a long time, and he will be missed. 5.C. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Chief - Support Division Chief Canfield reported the following: Fall firearms qualifications is complete and we are moving onto driving training beginning tomorrow. Animal Control Officer interviews were completed today. There were several qualified candidates and a Chief's interview is scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving. Commissioner Davis inquired what the qualifications are for the ACO position and Chief Canfield advised they should have prior experience in some fashion. He indicated the top candidate has significant experience as a vet tech and we were very lucky to have that applicant. . We are getting ready to implement the First Arriving software throughout the building, so hopefully, in the next couple of weeks that will be up and running. 6.A.i. Orders and Bulletins 6.B. Chief - Operations Division Chief Canfield reported the following: They have been busy with scheduling and the winter schedule is out for bid. They have also been busy working on the holiday parade, which is next Saturday, Nov. 25th. They will be doing a 5k Santa race in the morning through the downtown area and the holiday parade will take place at 5:00 pm. 6.B.i. Hirings Chief Canfield advised we had four people in backgrounds for police officer positions. Unfortunately three of those candidates have Police Officer have not worked out, so we are down to one candidate who will proceed beyond the background investigation phase. That candidate graduates from college this semester and she was also one of our Community Resource Officers for a couple of summers, which is kind of a testament to that approach for developing future officers versus hiring off the street. 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 October 26, 2023, were approved. 7.B. Notice of Holidays - 2024  On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting minutes of October 26, 2023, were approved. 7.B. Notice of Holidays - 2024 Commissioner Davis inquired if the list of holidays is the same City wide and Chief Canfield advised yes. On a Motion by Commissioner Davis, and seconded by Commissioner Mello, the 2024 Notice of Holidays 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. As noted before, Detectives are assigned two days a month assisting in patrol. No further discussion. 8.C. Budget Reports Chief Canfield advised the budget is at 32.77% of the way through the year and is under budget in most areas. Overtime is at 118% spent and that number seems high; however it is a reflection of our overtime budget that was cut by half from the previous year. That 50% reduction in overtime is why that number is so high, but it is on track with prior years. 8.D. Monthly Traffic Report Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Report. No further discussion. 8.E. Monthly Fleet Report No discussion. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO/FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chief Canfield advised we received a nice thank you letter from Chief Suckling of the Alexandria Police Department commending three of our officers who attended training in their town taught by the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center, recognizing their professionalism. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Canfield reported the following: In the first week of November we completed our annual CALEA accreditation review. This process was new this year, because it included the review of approximately 100 of our files, but in addition it included three separate interviews on different topics. It was a little bit different and we hit a couple of small bumps in the road, but overall they were very pleased with our review and were recommended to continue to next year. Robin Moyer is very instrumental in doing this work and has done an outstanding job with it. He attended the New Hampshire Chief's meeting this month.  we hit a couple of small bumps in the road, but overall they were very pleased with our review and were recommended to continue to next year. Robin Moyer is very instrumental in doing this work and has done an outstanding job with it. He attended the New Hampshire Chief's meeting this month. He has been working closely with the Laconia Christian School on their school safety plans. This was an initiative structured after the Laconia schools, as they have been the topic of school emergency response to an active shooter in the schools. Laconia Christian School is working toward that goal as well. He met with them on Tuesday, taking a tour through the Living Hope Church in Lakeport, and the Living Hope Church was selected as a reunification site in the event it is needed. Dispatcher Victoria Dow created a holiday spirit week for the dispatch center for the week before Christmas. She came up with a theme for each day of the week, which will be some fun for the dispatchers to participate in and hopefully build some camaraderie and boost moral. The annual Laconia Police Department Christmas Luncheon is scheduled for Wednesday, December 13th at noon. We will be manning the phone bank for the Children's Auction on December 6th, which we have typically done for many years now. In reviewing the SPIDR Tech community engagement software, for October we sent a total of 1,815 text messages, which was up 2.5%. The survey completion rate is at 19%. which is down 4.2% from the previous month, but is still considered a high completion rate. Overdose statistics for the month are at 44 year to date with 7 fatal overdoses. There have been 101 line of duty deaths this year across the Nation. Chairman Whittum note the package on the SPIDR Tech technology is amazing and he can't believe the detail. Chief Canfield agreed and advised it improves our customer service and if the officer is delayed it will tell the caller why. The survey is a big improvement from what we had been previously doing on the website with the QR code, because we weren't really receiving results from that. Commissioner Davis inquired if the total overdoses is up or down from last year and Chief Canfield advised he believes they are slightly down. 11. OLD BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. OTHER BUSINESS 14. CITIZEN COMMENTS Councilor Cheney addressed the Commission and congratulated Chairman Whittum and Commissioner Davis on their re-election. He also inquired if the Police Commission would be willing to meet with the Public Safety Committee sometime between now and the 27th. He would like Chief Canfield, the Police Commission and the three members of the Public Safety Committee to sit down and talk about wages and hiring. He noted that Lebanon is paying $30,000 to certified police officers coming on board and we can't compete with that. He advised a wage study will be conducted, which he has asked to be moved right along. The study can help us going forward, but right now we need to do something to get people on board and keep the people we have. The temptation to leave and go somewhere else that is paying more and to do less work is not a minor problem. The Commission agreed to do so.  Commission and the three members of the Public Safety Committee to sit down and talk about wages and hiring. He noted that Lebanon is paying $30,000 to certified police officers coming on board and we can't compete with that. He advised a wage study will be conducted, which he has asked to be moved right along. The study can help us going forward, but right now we need to do something to get people on board and keep the people we have. The temptation to leave and go somewhere else that is paying more and to do less work is not a minor problem. The Commission agreed to do so. He also asked that Chief Canfield come before the Council and talk about the SPIDR Tech technology, as he is impressed with that program. Chairman Whittum noted that one of the questions through the survey caught his attention, which was, "How safe do you feel living and being in the City of Laconia". It came in at 3.8%. Councilor Cheney advised that is what he would like relayed to the Public Safety Committee and, at the same time, talk about the need for help. 15. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular meeting date of December 20, 2023 was confirmed. 16. ADJOURNMENT On a Motion by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 3:20 pm.