Police Commission Minutes 12/07/05

The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting on December 7, 2005. Present at this meeting was Chairman Dumont, Comm. Flanagan, Comm. Stenhouse, Deputy Chief Allen, Capt. Taylor, Capt. Callaghan, Attorney Grossman, Chaplain Lachapelle, Secretary Warburton, members of the Department, the public and the media.

All present gave the pledge of allegiance to the United States Flag. An opening prayer was offered, which also acknowledged this day is “Pearl Harbor Day.” Recognition was given for those that served in Pearl Harbor for the sacrifices that were made there.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to accept the minutes of the November 2, 2005 meeting as submitted, SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

A. Disorderly Residence Ordinance. Comm. Stenhouse inquired as to the status of this issue, as it had been months since it was originally discussed. Capt. Callaghan advised that he recently spoke with the President of the Landlord Association. He is looking to schedule a meeting on this after the holidays. Comm. Stenhouse asked to be kept apprised of the progress.

A. Oaths of Office, New Officers: Deputy Chief Allen provided a brief background on each of the new officers. The oath was administered to Officer Jeremy Aucoin, and Officer Joseph Rousseau, by Comm. Flanagan and to Officer John Dupuis.by Chaplain Lachapelle. Their friends and families were on hand to witness their achievement and badge pinning.

B. Education Incentive Award: Officer John Dupuis. Capt. Callaghan advised that Officer John Dupuis holds an Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice from MacIntosh College, issued in March of 2005. He meets the requirements for the education incentive and we therefore recommend awarding him the same.

Comm. Stenhouse MOVED to award Officer John Dupuis the appropriate educational incentive, by contract for an Associate Degree. SECOND by Chairman Dumont and PASSED unanimously.

C. Outside Detail Billing: Review Rates and Proposal Deputy Chief Allen referred the Commission to a proposal included in the binder. This concerns our detail rate, which no longer covers our expenses and further does not cover them if a cruiser is used. The memo shows what our current rates are with a 20% administrative fee. We propose to increase the administrative fee to 25%, which equates to roughly $7.00 more on a minimum four-hour detail. We also propose to charge $10.00 per hour for the use of a cruiser. If the Commission endorses this, we would like to bring this to the City Manager.

Comm. Stenhouse asked what is the basis for reducing the fee to $10.00 per hour, over the originally suggested $20.00 per hour. Deputy Chief Allen responded that it is the middle ground of what neighboring communities are charging.

Chairman Dumont stated "I don’’t care what others charge. It’s fair. If these are running consistently, you are putting engine hours on the cruiser." Deputy Chief Allen agreed this does put wear and tear on the cruisers. We use the back line fleet for these and in most cases cruiser details are minimal. Right now they are only authorized when there is a need, from a public safety standpoint.

Comm. Flanagan agreed that these rates are equitable. It is not getting less expensive and if the engine is running, it is still churning out miles.

Chairman Dumont MOVED to approve the change in detail fees that the administrative fee is increased to 25% and that there is a cruiser fee of $20.00 per hour. SECOND by Comm. Flanagan. The motion PASSED unanimously.

1. Patrol Bureau: Capt. Jeff Taylor reported that there was an 8% increase in vandalism this last reporting period. However, information sharing between bureaus was very productive and led to several arrests, including for damage done at Rand’s Store, Hervey’s Tire, and Advanced Recycling.

The K-9 was in the downtown area for 201 minutes, and made 44 traffic stops. The Parking Enforcement Officer logged 22 hours and issued 88 tickets during this reporting period.

Letters were recently sent out to the Route 11 business corridor providing information on the work we completed there over the past year. We received a reply from the Manager of Walmart, who indicated there was an observable reduction in traffic accidents on that road. There were only two accidents this reporting period on Route 11.

Chairman Dumont noted that our K-9 Fina and handler Keith MacKenzie, along with several other teams recently participated in a search at the County correctional facility. While no drugs were found, many remarked on the cohesiveness of Rochester’s Team. Captain Taylor concurred that Keith and Fina have served the citizens well.

2. Support Bureau: Captain Callaghan reported that the investigation’s bureau was called out twice this reporting period for a stabbing incident on Thanksgiving and for a rash of bb-gun vandalism. Two adults have been arrested for their role in these crimes. WE are working with the County Attorney to charge these as felonies for the aggregate damages which is estimated between forty and fifty thousand dollars. These individuals can face between 22 ½ and 45 years in prison, along with a fine of several thousand dollars.

Comm. Flanagan inquired if these individuals were tied to the rash of bb-gun incidents over the summer? Capt. Callaghan advised he felt the incidents were not related. Comm. Flanagan advised he had an opportunity last week to see the bb-gun used in these incidents. You could have easily mistaken it for a Glock .45, right down to the laser sights.

Capt. Callaghan reported that two officers are at free training this week in Portsmouth dealing with cyber crime issues with ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children).

In response to some recent press concerning comp stat, our efforts on Route 11 will show that it has paid off. We did a three-year study of that road. 25% of the accidents occurring there were with injury. We have gone from a high of 84 accidents last year, to only 39 this year, to date. This is a major corridor through the City, with potential for additional economic development. Capt. Taylor concurred that the message is getting out there.

Capt. Callaghan advised that the Department is in the process of meeting with various school officials. As of right now, we are just talking about it.

Chairman Dumont commented it should happen. As the County Commissioner, I insist they go into the jail. If they find drugs, we do something about it. It is high time Rochester did something like this.

3 Admin Bureau: Deputy Chief Allen Deputy Chief Allen reported that the Department is diligently working on the FY07 budget drafts and is meeting with staff on this. We are focusing our resources toward personnel and equipment. We anticipate having a first look at the budget for the Commission at the January meeting.

Comm. Flanagan commented that with the business of the Mall at Exit 13 planning to be open by FY07 there will be an impact on services.

Deputy Chief Allen stated our strategy in terms of dictating how many officers we are looking at is a workload analysis for existing officers, as well as a call response time. These are a couple of ways we can determine how many we need to accomplish the goals of comp stat.

Right now, comp stat shows the officers time divided into three different categories – service demands, administrative time and proactive time. We want to focus the officers time more toward the proactive time, which right now is only at about 12 - 13%. We think it should be about 45%. What we are doing now is not acceptable, as it forces us to approach policing in a reactive mode, not preventive mode.

The 13-month budget for last year shows that even after purchasing some equipment late in the year, we turned back slightly more than $40,000 to the general fund. This was quite an accomplishment given the staffing and overtime issues we encountered last year.

Comm. Stenhouse stated that he is happy to see that we turned back approximately $41,000 to the general fund. However, this raises a question in our revenue accounts. Our court fines are down, only reaching about 60% of our goal. We budgeted fifty thousand and only brought in thirty thousand. Also, dog fines are down. We budgeted nine thousand and only brought in twenty-eight hundred. These may be small items, but it indicates either poor budgeting or something else. Which is it?

Deputy Chief Allen stated that he did not have the answer at this time. Those numbers are estimates based on the previous year. Comm. Stenhouse asked for this to be researched. If we use historical data, what happened to alter history?

With regard to equipment issues, the AVL/GPS is scheduled for installing on Monday, December 12, with training set for Tuesday. We should be up and running by the end of the week.

Deputy Chief Allen reported that the two new cruisers are scheduled to be picked up on 12/08/05. The replacement cruiser from one totaled in a recent accident will not be ready until January. It is believed that these are 2006 vehicles. That information is on the bid paperwork.

A. Appreciation and Recognition. Off. Mike Mundy is thanked by the Stephen’s family for “Officer Friendly” attitude following a school bus traffic accident involving their children. Comm. Supervisor Martha Swats is recognized as Support Person of the Year. Officer Justin Livingstone and Officer Eric Babine are nominated for the Blair Memorial Award.

Chairman Dumont commented on the letter from the Steven’s family for Officer Mundy, noting, “this shows what an officer should be like – a really friendly cop.”

Deputy Chief Allen noted that the Department received a quick and timely thanks you from the Rochester Chamber for our efforts with the annual Christmas parade. This is a huge task to coordinate all the traffic. Our color guard did a great job, and the command staff marched and handed out candy to individuals gathered to watch the procession.

B. Information Other. Chairman Dumont, on behalf of the Commission wished all a Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to enter a non-public session at 7:43 P.M. for the purpose of personnel and legal matters. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse. The motion PASSED by roll call vote, Chairman Dumont-yes, Comm. Flanagan-yes, Comm. Stenhouse-yes. The non-public session closed at 7:57 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Flanagan, SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.