ROCHESTER POLICE COMMISSION
ROCHESTER, NH 03867
Barry K. Flanagan, Chairman
Paul J. Dumont, Commissioner
R. Gary Stenhouse, Commissioner
MINUTES OF THE POLICE COMMISSION MONTHLY MEETING
The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting on April 5, 2006. Present at this meeting was Chairman Flanagan, Comm. Stenhouse, Comm. Dumont, Chief Dubois, Deputy Chief Allen, Capt. Callaghan, Capt. Dumas, Attorney Grossman and Secretary Warburton.
Also present was Mayor John Larochelle, Councilor Lisa Stanley, the public and the media.
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 P.M.
All present gave the pledge of allegiance to the United States Flag.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT:
No Public Comment.
3. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES:
Comm. Dumont MOVED to accept the minutes of the March 1, 2006 regular meeting, the March 6, Special meeting, and the March 13, 2006 special meeting, as written. Comm. Stenhouse SECONDED the March 1, 2006 and March 6, 2006 meetings, and Comm. Flanagan SECONDED* the March 13, 2006 special meeting. All were PASSED unanimously.
*Comm. Stenhouse noted he could not provide a SECOND for minutes of a meeting where he was not present.
4. OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
A. Disorderly Residence Ordinance: Capt. Callaghan discussed the strategic approach to this issue, as recommended by Commissioner Stenhouse at the last meeting.
Comm. Stenhouse stated that one element that he did not see addressed has to with a close cooperation between the Police Department and Code enforcement. “One thing I note from experience is oftentimes the properties that have the most trouble with behavior are also those that have the most trouble with maintenance.”
Capt. Callaghan concurred. He stated that Code Enforcement is an equally important component to City when addressing issues with multi-family homes. He said when we met with the landlords; the City’s electrician and housing inspector were also there. They have been invited to be part of our monthly meetings.
“Furthermore, I plan to meet with Code Director, Larry Hamer to follow up on some other areas of the existing city ordinances. These properties are required to have the name of the property owner and a contact number posted within the residences. They are only exempt from doing that, if the landlord lives on the property.”
“There is a lot we can do, using this strategic plan as a base that will have a positive net effective on aesthetics and keeping families here, that might typically move away when affected by disturbances.” With the geo-based policing, all of us working together will allow the crime analyst to get data out immediately versus punching and crunching numbers that she is currently doing.
Chief Dubois said this is really geared to help us do a better job. The officers do problem solving and work with other Departments, puts us on the right track.
Comm. Stenhouse stated that Rochester makes a good effort. We are going have to make more of an effort. It’s going to take human beings to visit some of these places, and that costs money. We can however continue to make Rochester an even better place to live.
B. Dept. Of Justice Grant - Victim Advocate. Chief Dubois noted that the Commission approved us applying for these funds at our last meeting. This is part of our three-year plan. We had added this, last minute due to the presented opportunity. However looking at the financial state of the city as the budget process develops, we felt it would not be helpful to put another debatable issue on the table. In reviewing our priorities, while we do think this is important, in reviewing our priorities, the timing to introduce this is not the best. We plan to bring this forward at a future date and time.
C. FY07 Budget Hearing Schedule. Chief Dubois stated that the Council had their first look at the budget this week. The Police Department budget is set for Council review on May 16, 2006. We plan a brief intro to the budget and will let the discussion be driven by the Council as we respond to questions they may have. The public hearing is scheduled for May 23, 2006.
5. NEW BUSINESS:
A. Oath of Office. The oath of office for patrol officer was given to new officers Matthew Flathers and Michael Miehle. The families of both were on hand to participate in the badge pinning ceremonies.
B. Recognition.
1. National Dispatchers Week: Chief Dubois noted that National Dispatcher’s week is scheduled for the week of April 9 - 15th. On behalf of the Department and Commission he thanked Mayor Larochelle for issuing a proclamation marking the recognition of the work these employees’ do each and every day.
2. Certificate of Appreciation: Chief Dubois prepared a certificate of appreciation on behalf of himself and the Police Commission recognizing Lt. Turgeon for his efforts in several weeks as interim captain of the patrol division. He did a great job.
3. Chief’s Award: Chief Dubois invited Officer MacKenzie and Fina to the dias to recognize them with a Chief’s Award for their outstanding work in the K-9 program. He said they have been teamed up together for almost two years. Fina is certified in several narcotic drugs, she is also certified in tracking and agility. They have made quite an impression in those areas, at the local, state and federal level. They have made 51 drug arrests and completed 45 tracking events. However, they also both enjoy the positive interactions in the community with civic organizations, schools, fairs, and children, promoting canines in law enforcement.
C. Cyber Crime Presentation: Chairman Flanagan noted that he has learned a lot from looking into this. First, it happens here more than you would think. Many people who become victims of these types of crimes do not report them for a lot of reasons. The elderly are easy targets. They tend not to report them so as to avoid family believing they’re senile, or that they are not able to make their own decisions. Some don’t report it because they are embarrassed. No one is immune. If people think it’s not alive and well in Rochester, they are not well informed.
Chief Dubois stated the reason we are doing the presentation is the interest generated in the resources we’ve dedicated to it. The work we are doing in this area, which we also label as white-collar crime has positioned us to deal with this into the future. This is an issue that is being discussed at all levels in law enforcement, from Attorney’s General’s at the State and Federal levels, to Chief’s of Police Organizations locally and at the international levels. Capt. Callaghan and his staff have put us in an outstanding position to deal with this issue.
The officer assigned to this is working on this only part of his day. The work he does supports the work of other officers in the Department. For example, we had a missing person the other day we were trying to locate and this officer helped us track this person through the use of computer systems.
Captain Callaghan stated that most important thing to understand about these types of crimes is that they are borderless. It is vitally important that we have partnerships with other organizations to help us do our jobs to the benefit of the citizens. A presentation was made through a power point. See copy of slides attached.
The meeting was opened to public comment on this topic following the presentation.
Ms. Frances Soucy of Blackwater Road inquired about fraudulent on-line auction information she has been receiving. She said she has been forwarded that information to Det. Tapscott. What should she do, as a citizen?
Captain Callaghan replied she should continue to forward that information. It could develop into a case that would be opened for investigation.
John Larochelle (Mayor) of Chesley Hill Road asked if there is any equipment needs for the Department that would help us with digital evidence.
Capt. Callaghan stated that the Attorney General has secured some funding to do this. They can receive information at the state lab and forward it over a secure J-One line right to Det. Tapscott’s computer.
Chief Dubois stated that we could use ruggedized lap tops and secret email accounts; those are the types of things we could use. There is other equipment, which we can apply for through normal budget processes or through grants and partnerships through the state and region to include collaboration with other agencies.
Mayor Larochelle inquired if there is cooperation between the Police Department and the City’s MIS office? Chief Dubois stated absolutely. We work closely with them and maintain a very good relationship.
Lisa Stanley (Councilor) of Sampson Road said that we mentioned fraud and phishing, people preying on the elderly, and plans for outreach into the community. Where specifically are you going with the outreach and how would one get to it?
Capt. Callaghan stated to start, we plan to work with some of the PTA groups in the schools including at the Middle School and High School. Also, our HUD officer will be working with the residents in his patrol area in areas of using avoiding becoming a victim and using the Internet safely.
“New Hampshire being in the top ten of these types of crimes, [and a lousy top ten it is to be in], shows this is the wave of the future and we need to be prepared for it. We want to make people aware of the fact it is a crime and should be reported.”
Comm. Stenhouse asked that we do a special amount of outreach to the elderly. He knows of people in his own family who had been victimized. Comm. Flanagan also shared a story of an elderly person who reportedly won the Canadian lottery, and day after day sent thousands of dollars through Western Union for taxes on the winnings, until the store clerk intervened.
The Commission thanked all those who attended the meeting to take part in this important issue.
D. Education Incentive: Chief Dubois noted that Officer Matthew Flathers has his Master’s Degree, and is therefore eligible for the education incentive authorized by contract.
Comm. Dumont MOVED that Off. Flathers is granted the education incentive in recognition of his Master’s Degree. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously. (This vote followed the Non Public Session. The agenda was taken out of order and this was missed during the public session.)
E. Military Service Bar: Officer Michael Miehle was presented with his military service bar, to recognize eight years of service to his country, as a member of the US Coast Guard.
F. Exception to SOP 56; Gifts and Gratuities: Jaycee’s Awards Recognition. The Commission noted this is an exception we have made every year.
Chairman Flanagan MOVED to grant the exception to the gifts and gratuities policy for those members recognized by the Jaycees to accept tickets to the event. SECOND by Comm. Dumont and PASSED unanimously.
G. Review and Award Bids (Bid 06-41); Classroom AV Equipment and Furniture: Deputy Chief Allen reported that this is the Justice Assistance Grant, which the County was awarded and shared locally. The funds are from this grant are targeted in this bid, for audio video equipment and classroom furniture in both our lecture hall and comp stat rooms. Both expenditures were allowed purchases under the terms of the grant.
There was only one bid received at the closing date, from Best Buy Government services, in the amount of $12,606.97 (twelve thousand six hundred six dollars and ninety-seven cents.) We ask the Commission to award the bid to Best Buy.
Comm. Stenhouse asked how many specifications were sent out. Deputy Chief Allen stated he did not know for sure. It was advertised in the paper, and only one bid was received.
Comm. Dumont MOVED to award the bid to Best Buy, in the amount of $12,606.97. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.
H. Sop Updates: First Reading
1. SOP 17; Overtime Work Positions.
Comm. Dumont MOVED to adopt the update, as a first reading. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse, for discussion.
Capt. Dumas noted that the language deals primarily with compensatory time, as it relates to training.
Comm. Dumont amended his motion, to waive the second reading and adopt the SOP 17, as amended. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.
2. SOP 12: Fiscal Management: This change addressed changes in bureau command, particularly denoting the Deputy Chief’s role, as well as amending the amount of bids, per the City’s criteria.
Comm. Dumont MOVED to waive the second reading and adopt SOP 12 as updated. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.
I. Bureau Commander Reports:
1. Patrol Division: Capt. Dumas noted that the geo-based policing is going very well. “My hat is off to the Sergeants and Lieutenants, because the best laid plans can go awry without good implementation.” We are seeing the results of the change and are enjoying it.
We are moving forward with the crime analyst position. Former patrol secretary Jade Lambert is transitioning into that role. We are working on getting her some additional training to further enhance her capabilities.
The Wallace Street matter is progressing. We have an update meeting scheduled with the residents and business owners, on April 10, 2006. Letters have been sent inviting committee chairpersons to attend, and the invitation goes out now to any other interested persons to attend, including Council members. We hope to have a good update of where we are and where we can go.
The Citizen’s Academy just completed its fifth week. They have gone through the “dry” stuff, but still love it. Now we are getting to the hands on stuff. Everyone from the participants to the officers is having a great time. It has been a while since we have offered the program and we hope to be able to get back to offering more often.
In our goals review we talked about reforming community policing and getting members and citizens involved. We plan to coordinate community policing a lot like the Wallace Street issue. We want the stakeholders in these issues to be involved. As such, we plan to hold quarterly meetings in the wards, inviting the respective Council members because issues in one ward are often concerns of the people in other wards as well. We might already have a game plan in place to address those concerns. This concept was tossed out at the Citizen’s Academy last week and those in attendance seemed to like the idea. We would work with the Council members and the residents, not as facilitators but as participants. We would address the issues, so that each department that might have a stake in
the issue can address their end of it. We are looking forward to a good report in three months.
Comm. Stenhouse stated that when we are meeting with the folks in the Wards he represents, he would like to be invited.
In response to the question by Comm. Dumont, Captain Dumas admitted that he had “dropped the ball” regarding inviting Councilor Grassie to a recent meeting. He said, “I invited the committee leaders, chairs and the City Manager. I assumed all others would be informed of the meeting.” “That won’t happen again.”
2. Support Division: Capt. Callaghan advised that we solved the criminal mischief to the railroad light that was occurring in early March between Columbus Avenue and the Lilac Mall. The copper bars that trip the lights, and tell the train what is ahead were being smashed. This is significant due to the potential for a hazardous incident. It is estimated that $5,000. in damage was done. Patrol and Detectives working together identified two juveniles for being responsible.
Our Court Diversion program is twenty-five years old this month. Our coordinator, Deb Houle is organizing a celebration to be held on April 19, 2006, at the Granite Steak and Grille for all the volunteers and people who make this program possible.
We had three officers graduate from the Academy this past week. Officers Garneau, Rousseau will finish up in-house and FTO training. Officer Aucoin, who was certified and only needed to take the law package, has been solo patrol for a few weeks already.
Det. Tapscott is working on the I-SAFE program for city personnel, students and the elderly. We are looking forward to the program he will develop from this.
Det. Boudreau was recently sent, free of charge, to training addressing collection and preservation of DNA. He will be an instructor in this region for this.
On March 10, 2006, 10 K-9 teams completed the first random drug search through the school. It was well executed and letters were sent to the commanders of those agencies thanking them for their help.
The Commission inquired into the evidence locker noting the number of intakes is higher than that which is returned or destroyed, every month. This is going to lead it to look like it did in the old building.
Capt. Callaghan concurred; it is easy to take the evidence in, and much harder to get it out. We are aware of that. It comes up in comp stat reports each month. We are working with IMC and other software programs to help us expeditiously and legally dispose of it.
Chief Dubois said it really comes down to resources. One person oversees that function. He is also a crime investigator. We talked about this in a recent class of the citizen’s academy seeking volunteers to assist us with some functions. There may be some legal hurdles we would have to get over first. Additionally, we are looking at a couple of college interns for the summer that we might be able to use to help out in this area.
3. Executive Report: Deputy Chief Allen reported the two areas of concern he is watching in the budget continue to be the energy lines, and also overtime in both the police and communications budgets. However, we are below the bottom line of where we should be and are working with the finance office on projected deficits. We feel we will be in the black in both budgets in June.
The City has contracted out with a private consultant firm to assist with MIS services. This transition of having MIS all under one roof is going well. We are getting top quality service from both and are able to resolve some problem IS issues we have had in the past that we weren’t able to do with the staffing that we had.
We’ve received a new cruiser this week, to replace the one that was totaled last winter. There was an extreme backorder with Ford. The cruisers are being swapped out and this one should be on line within the week.
We are in the process of administering the promotional exam for new Sergeants. The written test was April 4, and the oral board will be April 6. We hope to bring the candidates to the next meeting.
Chairman Flanagan thanked Deputy Chief Allen for his diligence with the Sergeant’s exam, to include taking it home to work on it.
Comm. Dumont inquired into the costs of the cruiser changeover, noting that they have a person at the County that does it. Deputy Chief Allen stated that our radio repair contract person does all of that. There is a fee to have it done.
6. CORRESPONDENCE;
A. Appreciation and Recognition: Off. John Harding is recognized by the Hamer family for professionalism during a traffic stop. Mr. & Mrs. Robert Steele thanks Chief Dubois and the Department for participating in the retirement celebration held at the Elks. Off. Pridham is recognized by the County Attorney’s office for testimony is State V. Fecteau. Chief Dubois and Principal Robert Pedersen sent letters of thanks to all agencies participating in the first random drug search through Spaulding High School.
7. INFORMATION;
A. Financial Reports- March 2006: This was covered under the Executive Report. There were no further comments or questions on the financial reports.
B. Information other; enclosed with Agenda:
1. Retention Plan: Comm. Stenhouse said he was happy to see the work on the retention plan. Chief Dubois stated that this has been a good team effort in the Department. We are still in the process of goal setting and team building. The early results are very good.
Comm. Stenhouse inquired as to how the Supervisors handled the 360 evaluations.
Capt. Dumas stated from what he saw it went well. The feedback was well received and supervisors have made some adjustments to what they learned. It provided an opportunity to address some issues. Some didn’t get enough feedback, while others did. We had some one on one meetings coaching and mentoring. We find that if we sit face to face, communicate, and did it more often it would resolve most of these issues.
Comm. Stenhouse stated that many times supervisors are impervious to feed back. There are a lot of people that would fall into that category, and the longer you have been in a position, the more often they respond with the “I don’t want to hear it” mentality.
C . Other.
1. Towing Companies. Chairman Flanagan indicated that the towing companies would like to meet with the Commission to review some of the new law changes in Concord. Chief Dubois stated the licensing board regulates the towing companies.
Attorney Grossman concurred noting this should go before the licensing board if they need assistance. Chairman Flanagan asked Chief Dubois to call Mr. Johnson of Bob’s towing regarding this.
8. NON-PUBLIC SESSION:
Comm. Dumont MOVED to enter a non-public session at 8:45P.M. for the purpose of personnel and legal matters. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse. The motion PASSED by roll call vote, Comm. Dumont-yes, Comm. Stenhouse-yes. The non-public session closed at 9:27 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Dumont, SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.
9. MISCELLANEOUS:
At the close of the non-public sessions the following action or discussion occurred:
A. Merit Increases, Union
Comm. Dumont MOVED to award a merit increase, based on a passing evaluation to the next step in the contract for Off. Andrew Jackson and Officer Brenden Bentz. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.
10. ADJOURNMENT:
Comm. Stenhouse MOVED to adjourn. SECOND by Comm. Dumont at 9:33 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rebecca J. Warburton
Secretary
Adopted by the Commission:
__May 3, 2006______________
Date
*ADDENDUM (Cyber Crime Powerpoint Slides)
5. NEW BUSINESS:
C. Cyber Crime Presentation:
What is Cyber Crime?
There is no commonly agreed upon definition. Cyber means from or facilitated by a computer. Cyber Crime is a broadly used term to describe criminal activity committed on computers or the Internet. Many traditional crimes may have a cyber component
A broader definition is electronic crime
Electronic crime: Crimes that include, but are not limited to: fraud; theft; forgery; child pornography or exploitation; stalking; traditional white-collar crimes; privacy violations; illegal drug transactions; espionage; computer intrusions or any other offenses that occur in an electronic environment for the express purpose of economic gain or with the intent to destroy or otherwise inflict harm on another person or institution.
How are computers used in crime?
A computer can be a corollary to an offense
Storage medium of potential evidentiary information
Examples: Child pornography images, financial files, emails
A computer can be the target of an offense
Information contained on a system can be manipulated, stolen, or compromised for fraudulent and other criminal purposes
Examples: Students grades or criminal records are changed
A computer can be used to perpetrate the offense
Computer as a weapon
Example: A computer is used to attack an email system by sending thousands of emails per second
Scope of the Cyber Crime Problem
There are no reliable numbers on how big the cyber crime problem is
Cyber crimes continue to rise each year as criminals find new ways to exploit technologies
Many traditional crimes have a cyber component
Many cyber crimes go unreported
Examples: Emails scams, cyber attacks
No single organization is responsible for collecting data on cyber crimes
Scope of the Cyber Crime Problem
The Internet Crime Complaint Center reported in 2004 that in 78.75% of their complaints indicated that the perpetrators lived in the United States
Cyber crimes are increasing
In 2004, the IC3 website received 207,449 complaint submissions. This is a 66.6% increase over 2003 when 124,509 complaints were received. These filings were composed of fraudulent and non-fraudulent complaints primarily related to the Internet.
Cyber crimes are often not reported, particularly by industry.
The number of actual crimes are far higher then the numbers being reported.
Scope of the Cyber Crime Problem
Cyber crimes are often not reported by the public as well. It is believed that over half of computer and white collar crime is going unreported.
Some of the reason for this are:
Victims are embarrassed
Victims are unaware who to turn to
Victims are not aware that it is a reportable crime
Scope of Cyber Crime in New Hampshire
Of the 50 States, New Hampshire is ranked 8 in overall computer crime reports.
N.H. consumers monetary losses to computer and white collar crime are high.
The average amount paid person = $2,392
Average Med-Income in 2002 = $51,550
$2,392 / $51,550 = 4.6%
On average 4.6% of annual income
was lost
Number of Cyber Crimes Investigated
In 2004 it was stimated that 15% of Concord, Nashua, Manchester, Rochester
and Dover’s 22,000 reported investigations had a cyber component.
This amounts to 3,000 cases in 2004.
Problems Investigating Cyber Crimes
Cyber crime investigations -- Requires basic technical knowledge of Computer,
networking, emails, IP Addresses, Routers
Jurisdictional Issues -- Many cyber crimes originate outside the United States
Evidence may not be available -- Digital evidence is perishable
Roles in Computer Crime Investigations
Because technology is broadly available traditional roles (First responder, investigator, forensic examiner) are becoming blurred. Law enforcement must have training on basic computer crime investigation. In some cases sophisticated analysis will be required of technical matters. More often than not investigators with basic skills can investigate cyber crimes
Future Ability to Investigate
We asked about the best way to increase LE’s ability to investigate cyber crimes:
71% of respondents indicated that staff training would improve their ability to investigate computer crime
51% noted computer software was needed
44% stated computer hardware was needed
38% noted additional staff and legal guidance was required
Need for greater intelligence and operating procedures
Analysis: We can fill the biggest gap by providing cyber crime training to our LE partners
Notes on Evidence Collection
Most Police Departments do not routinely consider the collection of electronic evidence during an investigation
Only 11% report having standard written protocols for the seizure of evidence
Electronic evidence collection is being addressed through protocols and training
The Rochester Police Department Receives Computer Crime /
White Collar Crime Complaints through the following sources
Direct
Lobby walk in’s
Telephone
Rochester PD website
Crime Line
Referrals
From local, state, and federal agencies.
From Organizations including missingkids.com (cybertips), and
The Internet Crime Complaint Center. (IC3)
2005 Computer Crime in Rochester
62 Reported Cases
Total loss to residents in excess of $30,000. This is
expected to sharply increase in 2006
The are no available statistics at this time, however, the total loss suffered
by businesses are even higher than resident losses.
Partnerships and Outreach
We are working on cyber crime prevention and awareness programs. This includes
Handouts and brochures
Internet safety classes for students and parents
Internet fraud awareness for elderly
Information and resources on department website
Public presentations
We have also partnered up with many organizations to assist with computer and
white collar crime investigations.
We are part of the New Hampshire Cyber Crime Initiative
The New Hampshire Department of Justice, through the leadership of the Attorney General, the State Police, and local criminal justice organizations developed the State’s first-ever Strategic Plan to Address Cyber Crime in early 2004. The Strategic Plan is a consensus-driven document with a clear mission for developing the highest level of public safety to the citizens of New Hampshire.
ICAC - Internet Crimes Against Children
(Northern New England Task Force)
In 1998, the Missing Children’s Program of OJJDP initiated its Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force program, a national effort to combat the threat of offenders who use the Internet to sexually exploit children. Through this program, state and local law enforcement agencies can acquire the skills, equipment, and personnel resources to respond effectively to ICAC offenses.
At this time we have two ICAC investigators who have the training for online child exploitation investigations.
NW3C (National White Collar Crime Center)
Organization focused on investigating economic and high-tech crime. NW3C
offers benefits and information unavailable anywhere else. NW3C provides:
Access to state-of-the-art training courses on financial and cyber crime investigations techniques.
An understanding of high- tech and economic crime trends using the resources and timely research conducted by NW3C.
A powerful network of colleagues to share ideas and insights on economic crime and fraud prevention.
Education through experts in the economic crime and fraud prevention fields.
ISAFE
i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in the Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress, i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere. i-SAFE incorporates classroom curriculum with dynamic community outreach to empower students, teachers, parents, law enforcement, and concerned adults to make the Internet a safer place.
RISS – Nespin Division
The Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program is composed of six regional centers that share intelligence and coordinate efforts against criminal networks that operate in many locations across jurisdictional lines. Typical targets of RISS activities are terrorism, drug trafficking, violent crime, cybercrime, gang activity, and organized criminal activities.
Consumer Sentinel
Consumer Sentinel members include more than 1000 law enforcement agencies in Australia, Canada and the United States. It helps them build cases and detect trends in consumer fraud and identity theft. Consumer Sentinel gives law enforcers access to over one million complaints including consumer complaints from numerous Better Business Bureaus, the National Fraud Information Center, and Canada's PhoneBusters.
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