ROCHESTER POLICE COMMISSION
ROCHESTER, NH 03867
Lucien Levesque, Chairman
James F. McManus, Jr., Commissioner
Al Bemis, Commissioner
MINUTES OF THE POLICE COMMISSION MONTHLY MEETING
The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting at City Hall Council Chambers on June 3, 2009. Present at this meeting was Comm. Levesque, Comm. McManus, Comm. Bemis, Chief Dubois, Deputy Chief Allen, Attorney Grossman and Secretary Warburton.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M.
A. Pledge. All in attendance participated in the pledge of allegiance.
B. Prayer. Comm. Levesque delivered the opening prayer.
C. Roll Call. The clerk called the roll marking all Commissioners present.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT:
There was no public comment.
3. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES:
A. May 6, 2009 regular meeting
Comm. McManus MOVED to accept the minutes of the May 6, 2009 regular meeting as submitted. Second by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
4. OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
A. Any Old Business. No discussion.
5. NEW BUSINESS:
A. Grant: Additional JAG Funds Available: Discussion. Chief Dubois stated that we have just been notified that we are eligible to apply for an additional $41,000 in Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funds. As we did with the last grant, the County has agreed to be the fiscal agent for a share of the funds.
The Commission asked who would administer the grant?
Chief Dubois replied that it would be the County, probably through the Sheriff=s Department.
Comm. McManus stated this is a win-win. We need the funds to help us fight crime.
Comm. McManus MOVED to apply for the additional grant funds, with the County in exchange for being the fiscal agent receiving ten percent of the award. SECOND by Comm. Bemis. Open for discussion.
Comm. Levesque stated this is a good concept. It helps the City and the County who work hand and glove together, and it frees up our time.
The MOTION PASSED unanimously.
B. Accept Resignation: Officer Travis Stroud. Chief Dubois stated that Officer Stroud had resigned due to relocating to another state.
Comm. Bemis MOVED to accept the resignation of Officer Stroud, with regret. Second by Comm. McManus. Open for discussion.
Comm. Levesque inquired into doing a letter of recommendation for Officer Stroud?
Chief Dubois stated that he would do one if the Commission told him to do one, but we have policies, standard policies, about that. We would open our books to any requesting agency, and the record speaks for itself.
The motion to accept the resignation of Officer Stroud, with regret, PASSED unanimously.
C. Job Description Update: Police Prosecutor. Chief Dubois stated after Capt. Callaghan=s review, we added some language addressing alternative sentencing and bail, as well as the person having the ability to instruct and train.
Comm. McManus MOVED to adopt the job description, as updated. SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
D. SOP Updates; First Reading
1. Standard 42.1.1.2 Domestic Violence
Comm. McManus MOVED to place the Policy Standard 42.1.1.2 into a first reading by title only. SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
Comm. McManus MOVED to place the Policy Standard 42.1.1.2 into a second reading for adoption by title only. SECOND by Comm. Bemis. The motion to adopt the updated policy PASSED unanimously.
2. Standard 42.1.1.5 Sexual Assault and Sex Offender Registration
Comm. McManus MOVED to place the Policy Standard 42.1.1.5 into a first reading by title only. SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
Comm. Levesque MOVED to place the Policy Standard 42.1.1.5 into a second reading for adoption by title only. SECOND by Comm. McManus. The motion to adopt the updated policy PASSED unanimously.
3. Standard 44.2.2 Juvenile Custody
Comm. McManus MOVED to place the Policy Standard 44.2.2 into a first reading by title only. SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
Comm. Levesque MOVED to place the Policy Standard 44.2.2 into a second reading for adoption by title only. SECOND by Comm. McManus. The motion to adopt the updated policy PASSED unanimously.
D. Monthly Reports
1. Patrol Report. Chief Dubois reported that as the weather gets warmer, we are intensifying patrols in target areas of the city, to address issues.
Our K9 was recertified for another year, scoring 198 points out of a possible 200 points. She placed the second highest score of 41 teams. The team that scored higher was from Massachusetts, as were all of the judges.
The motor vehicle unit is doing a great job. One of our speed trailers is back up and running, and the second is still down for repairs to the damaged screen. We know the damage was intentional, but we do not have any suspects at this time.
The Explorer program recently held an open house, and as a result, we have increased our membership.
We are working on testing new weapons, to be purchased with the JAG money. Our firearms instructors are reviewing and providing feedback, and will make a recommendation before we proceed.
The bicycle patrol and motorcycle units, for those members having training in those areas, are both being utilized.
We have seen a dramatic increase in property crimes, of 52%; mostly attributed to the vandalism we have been discussing these past months. This has slowed as of late, but it is responsible for the spike. We have seen a decrease in our crimes against people. Assaults and robberies are down, slightly. The patrol division and our crime analyst are working very hard, and putting plans in place to combat this.
2. Support Report Dep. Chief Allen reported that the Investigations Bureau has been busy with several major crimes, most notably, a child pornography case where after a forensic audit of the computer, we made an arrest. The initial offense occurred two years ago. This has been transferred to the federal level. We also had a first-degree assault on a 4-month-old baby. This took up a significant amount of investigative time and the case is still developing. We also had an insurance fraud case involving a local elected official.
Det. Bonneau has been selected for the prosecutor=s position, when the restructure of the department is implemented.
Our middle school SRO will be holding an additional DARE graduation. The students worked on a poster competition about drug and alcohol. The winning poster will be used at National Night Out. Kudos goes to Officer Funk and the students.
Both of our School Resource Officers will again take part in the summer rec program. Both of them are doing an excellent job and are well liked and respected by the staff and students.
Comm. McManus again noted his thanks to Chief Dubois for ensuring we could still fund the DARE program.
In training and hiring, we have had a combination of in service training and we have hosted some training. Officer Yerardi is doing an outstanding job. This benefits the Rochester officers and other officers in the area. In addition we have on line training course that are providing additional training hours and maximizing our resources.
The new crime van arrived. Foster=s did a great job covering the story and showing the equipment. We publicly thank Representative Carol Shea-Porter for her recent visit. This unit will take us to new levels in investigating crimes.
Comm. McManus noted that Representative Shea-Porter is a Rochester resident and we thank her for all she has done for her community.
E. Other.
1. Operation Falcon. We had a successful event the previous evening with county and federal officials, making six arrests of wanted persons.
2. Audits. We had two audits today. One was on our homeland security grant, which was very successful. The other was on our UCR statistics. We do not have the results of that audit yet.
3. Child Pornography. Comm. Levesque asked if we have members of our staff searching and watching the Internet for these offenses?
Dep. Chief Allen replied we do not, full time. Our resources just don=t allow it. We do have the ability and we have done it, but not full time.
Chief Dubois added this is an important issue, but our cyber capability hasn=t been used solely for that. Not only does this happen in local communities, but also what you uncover could take you across the country. That means added resources that are not focused on local issues. Some Departments in the State have those resources. They share anything they might uncover with local communities.
4. Drinking Establishments. Comm. McManus commented that all of our local Adrinking spot@ establishments should have a seating capacity. We seem to have a lot cropping up downtown, where it=s the place to go for a cool one at night. We have been working to bring Rochester back to what it was, when this incident went on with the models. I know the guy apologized, but I had some calls. Comm. McManus asked, ADo we inspect these places? Do officers go into these establishments to make sure that stuff isn=t going on?@
Dep. Chief Allen replied we do. We were very concerned about the reports we received. We did what we could that night. The initial report was of scantily clad women exiting the bar and doing a photo shoot. It was reportedly going on inside the bar and outside the bar. Patrol and Investigations Bureau officers responded. They talked to the owner of the bar and with some of the women participating. The women were in lingerie, that was revealing, but not nudity that we observed. It certainly was not appropriate if you were to bring a family into the downtown area. We researched the ordinances in place, and consulted with liquor enforcement and codes to complete a review of the entire incident.
The bar owner was hosting a photo shoot for a modeling agency, in conjunction to promote the modeling agency and the bar. It wasn=t the most appropriate way to do that, but in terms of illegal activity, nothing that we witnessed would have permitted us to bring a
charge under the ordinance. We are continuing to monitor the issue.
Comm. McManus said this shouldn=t spill out on the street. If they are doing it within the confined of their building they pay taxes on is one thing. But we are trying to build the downtown; you have new businesses trying to make it that cater to families. I hope you do monitor this.
Dep. Chief Allen stated that we=ve had discussions with the bar owner, addressing this long term. They have agreed not to host these and we will monitor to ensure there is no illegal activity going on.
5. Presentation. Comm. Levesque noted that whenever people at home are watching these televised meetings, means there are people behind the scenes that make that happen. It takes special people and volunteers. He invited Ms. Dorise Therrien to the podium.
Comm. Levesque stated to Ms. Therrien, Ayou are a shining star and we appreciate what you do and hope you continue to do.@ She was presented with a volunteer motto Ashining star@ key chain.
He noted that the City could always use volunteers.
6. No Meeting in July 2009.
Comm. Levesque MOVED to forgo a July meeting. SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
6. CORRESPONDENCE:
A. Appreciation and Recognition. Comm. Bemis announced the appreciation letters received this month. Chief Dubois is recognized for volunteer service at the Homeless Shelter. Intern Erik Haglund offers thanks for the experience and opportunity to participate in an internship with the Rochester Police Department.
Chief Dubois noted that Erik is the son of a former NH Chief. He is a UNH student and this internship was part of his studies that he received credit for. This was coordinated through Capt. Dumas, and allowed him to see the day-to-day operations of the department. Erik notes the experience has just reinforced his desire for a law enforcement future. It=s a really nice letter that we appreciated receiving.
7. INFORMATION:
A. Information other; enclosed with Agenda. No discussion.
B. Financial Reports. Comm. McManus noted that commanders are working backshifts to save on overtime costs. They are to be thanked for that.
Chief Dubois stated we can=t eliminate all of it, but we are doing what we can. The Lieutenants and Captains are doing most of it. In this we are not in a leadership role, but more of a support and assist role. We are going to go over in some lines, but will have surplus in other lines. The decision to pay off our comp time liability, which we typically do each year, will weigh heavily on the bottom line. We are talking about it and will keep you informed on any final decision. We are very close to our appropriation and this one issue is the balancing act on if we finish in the black or in the red.
C. Other.
1. Service of Paperwork. Comm. McManus inquired when a person seeking a restraining order in the family court, now located in Dover, and that is faxed up to us for service, how long does it take for us to serve it?
Chief Dubois replied that those are driven by policy. We serve them as soon as possible. These are high priority, and are monitored through patrol and our DV liaison. I=m not aware of us having any problems serving them timely. We do have a lot of paperwork service, but law and policy drive those with the higher priority.
2. Letter to Editor. Comm. McManus noted a recent letter to the editor that noted the employment of one of the dispatchers. For the record, that person works in the police building, but the city manager oversees them.
Chief Dubois stated that the dispatchers do work for the police department. We influence the hiring decision of the City Manager. The difference between dispatch and an officer under my command is that the Police Commission has control over the policy, hiring and firing of police officers, while the dispatchers are handled by the City Manager. The Police Chief is still the middleman in both.
8. NON-PUBLIC SESSION: (Pursuant to: RSA 91-A:3)
A. RSA 91-A:3 (II-a) Personnel
B. RSA 91-A:3 (II-e) Legal
Commissioner McManus MOVED to enter a nonpublic session at 7:44 P.M. pursuant to RSA 91-A: 3, paragraph II, section A (personnel) and section E (legal.) SECOND by Comm. Bemis. The motion PASSED by roll call vote of 3 - 0 as Comm. Bemis, Comm. McManus and Comm. Levesque voted yes to enter non public session. The non-public session closed at 8:45P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. McManus, SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.
9. MISCELLANEOUS:
A. Merit Increase.
Comm. Bemis MOVED to approve the evaluation of Off. Chris Mangum, Off. Mike Lambert, Off. Justin Livingstone, Det. Tom Blair, Off. Joshua Ouellette, and Det. Steven Bourque, and to award any adjustments as may be entitled pursuant to the contract. SECOND by Comm. McManus and PASSED unanimously.
10. ADJOURNMENT:
Comm. McManus MOVED to adjourn. SECOND by Comm. Bemis at 9:02 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rebecca J. Warburton,
Secretary
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