Police Commission Minutes 03/02/05

The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting on March 2, 2005. Present at this meeting was Chairman Dumont, Comm. Flanagan, Comm. Stenhouse, Chief Dubois, Capt. Allen, Capt. Callaghan, Lt. Dumas, Attorney Grossman, Secretary Warburton, members of the public and the media.

A. Building “punch list items” Update: Capt. Allen reported out on a couple of issues with the building. He stated that the snow barriers were installed during the month and they have proven to be helpful. There was a noticeable difference in the rate of snow falling from the roof. We are also working with a vendor to order blinds for some of the windows in the Department. It won’t be every window, just those that are in dire need, which includes some offices, locker rooms, public bathrooms, etc. We may do more windows toward the end of the budget year, depending on available funds in our operational lines.

Chief Dubois reported that these updates are getting to a point of being routine building maintenance. The City has accepted the building as substantially complete. We would like to remove this as a monthly reporting area of the agenda. The Commission concurred, requesting to be kept abreast of any important issues regarding the building.

1. SOP 05, Adult Arrest Procedures. This came before the Commission for a first reading in January. At the February meeting, prior to the second reading, we recommended tabling the same for one month for additional, minor updates, which would save us bringing it right back the next month. The updates included complying with the ruling in State V. Follansbee and also to amend the prisoners’ restraint section, which is driven by the design of the building. We also ensured that language in corresponding procedures coincided.

Chief Dubois advised that Mr. Jones was an integral part of a recent investigation into a fraud case perpetuated against an elderly homeowner. Mr. Jones wrote a detailed statement and took photographs of the home’s chimney, which will aid us in our investigation. His efforts were noted by the Patrol Sergeant who sought recognition for Mr. Jones. Chief Dubois stated that when we have the opportunity to recognize citizens for the work they do for members of our community, we must do so. The certificate, presented by Chairman Dumont, read as follows:

IN RECOGNITION OF COMPASSIONATE ACTS OF PUBLIC SERVICE BY PROVIDING ASSISTANCE AT NO COST TO AN ELDERLY CITIZEN WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY PAID A SUM TO ANOTHER FOR CHIMNEY REPAIRS THAT WERE NOT COMPLETED TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS.

Chief Dubois noted the Department’s commitment and emphasis on motor vehicle work in the City. The following officers; Ptl. Sgt. Anthony Deluca, Ptlm. John Harding, Ptlm. Jim Fox, and Ptlm. Tim Morgan have all stepped up to this challenge and in addition to their other work have made an impact in various areas of recent motor vehicle enforcement. They have done so without any complaints lodged against them, which is unique because in these instances you are dealing with the public in an environment where folks are unhappy with the service they are receiving. These officers are doing a great job and we felt they should be recognized with certificates of achievement for this work. The work they are doing benefits the City.

Chief Dubois said that a neighborhood coalition through their coalition officer reported what appeared to be drug activity on their street. In a joint effort between Detectives and Patrol officers, we used this information to set up surveillance and obtain a search warrant for the residence. The following Department members are recognized for their teamwork; Capt. Jeffrey Taylor, Det. Sgt. Anthony Triano, Det. Eric Dugas, Det. Athony Bossi, Det. Stacy Gilman, Ptl. Sgt. Anthony Deluca, Ptlm. MacKenzie and K9 Fina, Ptlm. James Bonneau, and Ptlm. Paul Kusinerz. We seized some cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana. This work nets them the distinguished unit action bar to be worn on their uniform. Some of these officers are new, and are just getting the bar, while others have received this award multiple times in the past.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to suspend the rules and hold a first and second reading for the update to SOP 69 and adopt the same. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse. The motion to adopt SOP 69, as updated PASSED unanimously.

1. Patrol Bureau. Capt. Callaghan reported on the Commission’s inquiry of dispatched vs. self-initiated activity. The comp stat report breaks that down, by shifts. As was evident by the awards presented this evening, we are tracking individual activity. There are some problems that we are addressing through supervision and mentoring.

(*Amended Sentence) We have had a 42% increase in field activities, year-to-date. We stopped 1400 cars, and made 41 criminal* arrests. Accidents are up 28% year-to-date, with almost 70% of them occurring during between 6:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Once we get new officers out of training, we hope to address this through a motor vehicle car. A dedicated unit will free up day shift personnel to continue with proactive activity and investigation of other crimes. We are coming upon the warmer months, where the motorcycles played a big role last year in these efforts, and we plan for that again. The K-9 was involved in five searches, with three seizures of contraband.

The Commission complimented Capt. Callaghan’s report, noting they particularly liked it in color. They requested the same be shared with the City Manager and council. Chief Dubois stated we could do that. It dovetails into a recent request to the City Manager from Councilor Goldstein regarding the same. Comm. Stenhouse asked if we are sharing our comp stat reports with the Foster’s Daily Democrat. It may be beneficial as they have a wide readership in the area. Chief Dubois said that we have shared some, but we are still fine tuning the format.

2. Support Bureau. Lt. Dumas reported that 4470 calls were logged in the Communications Center in January. We recently supplied the County with the call volume from the past three years, for work they are doing regarding a combined regional center concept. In each of the three years the call volume has exceeded 40,000. These are calls that require a log entry by the specialist, not general phone inquiries that are also received in the center. We have one full-time vacancy and one part-time vacancy in the center. Patrol has been helping out with coverage when they can to alleviate some of the overtime.

We are also working on streamlining some things in the Investigations Bureau. We had an identity theft that came in recently that has taken the resources of two detectives to work this case, alongside federal and other outside agencies. This puts other cases in the bureau to a lower priority. We are working to streamline our efforts to meet the demands we have. We are comp stating drug arrests in the City. Although we have no full time person assigned, we are making strides by pulling from an already depleted patrol bureau to get someone to work these cases. Our efforts at stretching our resources are producing some results, with a major cocaine arrest just last evening.

Chairman Dumont inquired if Fina had ever done a drug search at the school? Chief Dubois replied the short answer is that although we have talked about this with the school in the past, nothing has been decided as a group on this issue in the Rochester school system. Inquiries have been made for this to occur, however, we would not proceed without the support of the school board. Chairman Dumont asked, aren’t they interested in finding this out? Chief Dubois reiterated that we would help them, but this would be their decision.

Chief Dubois said Fina has been to other schools in the state, by invitation. This is an opportunity provided by the Working Dog Foundation to any school. She goes with a team of other dogs. If one dog gets a “hit” on a scent, another dog will come in for a secondary response. This is great training and adds to the team’s proficiency. There is no criminal action taken if contraband is found. The school handles the same administratively.

3. Admin Bureau. Capt. Allen reported that the operating line of our budget is right where it should be at 65% spent. There are four months remaining in the fiscal year. There are a couple of line items that are of a concern. We just transferred money into the clothing line. We hired six new officers this year, and while that has equated to a savings in the salary line, clothing has taken some of that. We did not anticipate six hires this year. Also as previously reported, the electricity lines are still a concern. We have been talking with the City’s finance department and we will wait until later this year on transferring funding to that line. Our heating costs are also a concern. We are watching these lines very closely. Our overtime line is looking very good and things are going well in that line. If you recall, at this time last year we were in serious trouble in that line.

We are also working on a project with the mobile data system network. We are hoping to expand that technology with a hub in the city that can be expanded countywide. It will allow data and information sharing that is extremely valuable not only in efficiency but also from a safety standpoint. We are negotiating with the vendor in that area. Capt. Allen said he recently attended a meeting at the Sheriff’s Department for the Chief where other communities present expressed interest in this project. At this juncture, it is not going to cost us any more than we are already paying. However, cost may be an issue for some of the smaller communities. Once the program is implemented, we believe the results will bear out the value. We will provide updates as this moves forward.

With regard to grant funding, COPS grants funding is proposed to be eliminated from the budget by President Bush. However, we should be hearing soon about the next round of Homeland Security money. We are still waiting to hear the results of our submission for the crisis communications phone grant. The grant award for Reverse 911 is progressing. There is a purchase order in the works that is waiting for the remaining signatures. The vendor states that we could have the program installed within 60 days.

A. Appreciation and Recognition. Letters recognizing Department members this month include: Det. Hana Stickles is recognized by Sgt. Burke for overall job performance. Det. Eric Dugas is nominated for the second time for Employee of the Month for February. Capt. Paul Callaghan is nominated for the Looking Beyond the Traffic Ticket Award. Chief Dubois and Sec. Warburton are thanked by the NH Chief’s of Police Secretaries Association for hosting a meeting in Rochester, in January

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to enter a non-public session for the purpose of personnel interviews at 6:00 P.M. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse. The motion PASSED by a roll call vote, Comm. Stenhouse-yes, Comm. Flanagan-yes, Chairman Dumont -yes. The non-public session closed at 7:00 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Stenhouse, SECONDED by Comm. Flanagan and PASSED unanimously.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED at 7:50 P.M. to hold a non-public session for the purpose of personnel and legal matters. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse. The motion PASSED by roll call vote, Comm. Stenhouse-yes, Comm. Flanagan-yes, Chairman Dumont -yes. The non-public session closed at 8:06 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Stenhouse. SECOND by Chairman Dumont and PASSED unanimously.