Police Commission Minutes

Rochester Police Commission

Rochester, NH 03867

Lucien G. Levesque, Chairman

Bruce E. Lindsay, Commissioner

Derek J. Peters, Commissioner

MINUTES OF THE POLICE COMMISSION MEETING

            The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting at City Hall, Council Chambers on Wednesday, December 3, 2014. Present at this meeting was Comm. Levesque, Comm. Lindsay, Comm. Peters, Chief Allen, Deputy Chief Dumas, Captain Toussaint, Captain Boudreau, Attorney Grossman, Chaplain Lachapelle and Secretary Warburton as well as invited guests, members of the Department and the media.

            The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M.

            A. Pledge. All participated in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

            B. Prayer. Chaplain Lachapelle led the opening prayer. 

            C. Roll Call. The clerk called the roll marking all Commissioner’s present.  

2.        PUBLIC COMMENT:  There was no public comment.

3.        ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES:  

A.  November 5, 2014 regular meeting

Comm. Peters MOVED to accept the minutes of the November 5,  2014 meeting. SECOND by Comm. Lindsay and PASSED unanimously.

            B.  Accept Amended* Minutes of August 6, 2014 

Comm. Peters MOVED to accept the minutes of the August 6, 2014 meeting, as amended. SECOND by Comm. Lindsay and PASSED unanimously.

*The amendment was to withdraw language in the minutes that awarded a merit increase to an officer who was not due for an award as a result of the passing of the collective bargaining agreement.

4.     OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

            1. Radio Systems. Comm. Peters asked if overall there were any issues with the storm and problems in dispatch with the radio.

            Chief Allen said the repeater system did go down with the power outages. It took a few hours to get that backup and running.

            Can that be corrected so it doesn’t happen again?

            Chief Allen said that he spoke with the Fire Chief and the City Manager about upgrading the system, potentially in the Fire CIP and moving from a digital repeater that relies on phone lines to a satellite system. The Fire Chief will be looking for grant opportunities. We are guessing the cost is still right up there, last look was about $100,000., but we want to explore it and eliminate issues we have, replacing it with a more reliable system.

          Comm. Peters thanked our public safety departments; Police, Fire, EMS, and DPW as well as Public Service of NH for jointly working together to get everyone through the storm over Thanksgiving. It is a credit to all of you coming together for the City and the citizens.

            2. Evidence Audit. Comm. Lindsay inquired as to the status of the evidence audit.

            Chief Allen said we still have some loose ends to finish up. The evidence technician is working on this. Once done, we will supply all the information requested.

5.        NEW BUSINESS:

            A. Awards and Recognitions

            1. 13^th Annual Blair Memorial Award – Chief Allen said it’s an honor to recognize this recipient and an honor to have Ted’s family here with us. This award honors a career police officer that loved to help people. He passed away at the age of 49, after serving as Chief for only seven months. The attributes for the award include compassion, commitment, respect for others, a sense of humor, and honesty and integrity describe just some of them. He was a leader long before it was a buzz word. He had a way with people, and he not only heard you what you said, he listened to what you said. There is a difference. He was very tech-saavy and was instrumental in moving the department forward in technology with computers. He was a boss, a mentor and a friend. His left his legacy on the Department.  

            This years’ recipient is Charles Pendlebury, Jr. Off. Pendlebury has been with us just 2.5 years. In that short time he’s been recognized with the lifesaving award and thanked multiple times for excellent customer service. One thing that stands out is Charlie is a positive person. He always has a smile and he has a sense of humor. That’s important. He’s earned the respect of his peers and his supervisors. One of his supervisor said Charlie goes above and beyond. He’s  dependable, reliable and is an example for others to follow. He displays a high level of character with honesty, loyalty and integrity and shows compassion to all he contacts. Compassion is his biggest strength.

            Chief Allen said that he’s proud to give this award to Charlie, and presented him with a ribbon for his uniform as well as a plaque.

            Off. Pendlebury thanked his family and the Blair family for coming. He said unfortunately I never got to meet Chief Blair, but I take a lot of pride in the Department and in the job. I treat all fairly every day and I believe we shared those same attributes. It’s a big honor to receive this award and I thank all for nominating me.

            B.  Oaths of Office.  Chief Allen thanked the families for supporting the officers. We couldn’t be successful without that. It was a pleasure to meet them all and give a tour of the agency.

            The oath of office was given by Attorney Grossman to Officer Jacob Garstin, Officer Spencer Williams-Hurley, and Officer Danielle Schacht. Their families were on hand to assist with badge pinning.

            C.  Monthly Reports

            1. Operations. Captain Toussaint said three of the six wards met this period. We have been struggling with attendance, but have had other elected officials attending. We’ve been posting meeting notices on the website and on face book. We are considering meeting less frequently with a goal of quality versus quantity of meetings.  

            The Regional TAR team had one call out in the city this month, a single vehicle roll-over accident with multiple serious injuries where teens were med-flighted. This case is still under investigation.

            We have a new strategy for comp stat and we are happy with how it's going, focusing our resources where they can have the most effect. Currently, the biggest problem in the city is drugs and the property crimes are symptomatic of the drug issue. We are focusing officers in the areas that we know have drug issues. They are doing field interviews, traffic stops and are getting good short term results.

            The property crime which we have been fighting all year we are happy with those numbers as well. All are down except for shoplifting and our closure rates are up showing that we are effective and having an impact. We hope to have an ancillary effect on DWI as well keeping a focus on traffic stops in these areas. On drug arrests we are pushing for information as to where the drugs are coming from. The goal is to shut the dealers down. At the same time we are providing information on rehabilitation. While it is where we have the most control, this is not all about enforcement.

          Comm. Lindsay commented that he is amazed at the intelligence gathering and how we communicate between departments and tie that together with the establishment of the task force.

          Chief Allen said we are using existing resources that we would otherwise use on our own and combining it with other resources in the county and we are having significant short term success. We anticipate continued success moving forward as the program grows.

          Comm. Lindsay speaking for himself said it brings a lot of pride to the community to see us doing things like that. The street and the environments are not what they seem. I find that impressive with how you train people and work with other agencies.

          Chief Allen said that the data drives all that we do and I’d like to think we are a leader in that area in the state in terms of the analysis of the data and using lean resources in the most effective way, getting the most out of our people.

          Comm. Lindsay said it seems to me the success you’ve had in the area that other officers in the department have realized they get action going in other areas by sharing intelligence and identifying perpetrators. I think that’s a strength of the Department.

          Capt. Toussaint said that a great deal of property crimes like robberies, burglaries and thefts are committed to feed a drug habit. It goes hand in hand to combat what causes them by combating the source of the problem.

          Comm. Peters said he is also getting good comments about what is happening in our downtown and he is glad we are working hand in hand with them.

         Chief Allen said as the Commission is aware we developed the POP unit for that very reason. To look at problem areas in the city, and downtown was one of them, to look at root causes of those issues and put resources there to essentially eliminate it. The downtown business owners are happy with the results and with the presences of all the patrol, including POP. Our goal is to improve the quality of life in the downtown and I think we are doing that.

            Comm. Levesque said good team work and cooperation leads to results.

          Chief Allen said we can’t do it without the community and partnerships at all levels of law enforcement, in the county. It’s that collective effort that makes us successful.

          Capt. Boudreau said that the investigations bureau, working with patrol on the drug issue has been the recent focus after several heroin overdoses. The task force can focus on the target areas that are identified by patrol and can saturate these areas. We’ve identified some drug houses, and conducted many traffic stops and completed a couple of search warrants. We are waiting for lab results on seized evidence. We continue to gather intelligence in combating this problem. 

          We had 67 cases sent up from patrol for review and further investigation. We presented 11 cases to the grand jury and all were true bills. We did have a decrease in call outs but still had two robberies, one attempted and one successful and additional overdose cases, no deaths resulting.

          In community outreach, Officer Hayes continues to monitor and post to our face book page. We are up over 9,000 “likes” and have approximately 80,000 hits per month. We are using it for a variety of reasons, including community information, posting the most wanted of the week, etc. Of the four posted this month two have been arrested. We are getting a good success with the publics’ help in finding those that elude us.

          The second teen night of the year had 300 youth attending. This continues to be a successful venture.

          Another outreach program is the Explorer post. SRO Jim Murphy has been working with the group. They have all successfully completed CPR certification. He is working on new uniforms for them, and getting them squared away for ride alongs so they can interact with the officers making the program more enriching for all of them.         

            2. Administration. Dep. Chief Dumas said that the financial report for November has us 42% spent for the year. Some of these lines are encumbered funds and others such as the legal line at 82.8% spent was for matters we’ve sought legal advice. Postage takes a big hit every year at the beginning of the year for the dog warrant.

          In other Ops, we split this out this year and will address that in building the budget for next year. We broke out all of the costs associated with evidence collection and processing. Previously we’d make two or three big purchases during the year and then struggle toward the end of the year for monies for evidence, sometimes having to pull from forfeiture funds. Doing this left us with about $3,000.00 for expenses that didn’t fit other lines. For example we bought a couple of new rifles with a grant, but found they didn’t come with magazines. We bought them through the other ops line. We may have to adjust this line moving forward.

          Overtime is 51% spent, which doesn’t reflect the comp time liability. That is another $20,000 on top of that. We monitor this carefully and do a weekly report on all expenses incurred to make sure we are staying in line. We also do a lot of training on duty time including firearms qualifications to keep those lines down.

          In the Dispatch budget as we’ve been telling you, after this payroll we’ve exceeded the overtime budget allotment and we are still down four positions. We have several per diems but we also use dispatchers and then officers to fill last minute vacancies. The overall budget will still be in the black but that line will be in trouble.

          Comm. Peters asked if we can make it up in the salary line.

          Dep. Chief Dumas said some, but we had payouts for some that left which came out of that line. We do anticipate some savings in health that will help us in that line.

          We are starting our budget building sessions next week. We are waiting for the timeline from the finance office and the percentage we need to target.

          Comm. Peters asked for a breakdown of the all wheel drive vehicles. He would like to see the cost difference between the explorer AWD and the Dodges six cyl vs. eight cyl.

          Dep. Chief Dumas said the wrecker bids are due to be opened on December 4, 2014. We’ve had limited issues with the services and expect all of them to be part of the process for the coming bid.

          In hiring and training Officer’s Hatch and Benjamin, have their FTO extended one week. They are in the review week, will have their training review board next week and if all goes well, they will be released to solo patrol. We had the three new hires sworn in tonight, leaving us with one vacancy. Our top candidate accepted a position with another agency and the other three didn’t work out. We have one certified in the queue. The next academy is in May 2015, and it will be 16 weeks.

          Off. Marvin is set to graduate next Friday. We received an email from PSTC staff indicating that we are lucky to have her as a recruit.

          Mobile video recording is getting a lot of attention as of late. There is a lot of talk about body cameras and we want to discuss with the Commission where do we want to go as an agency with that. The cruiser cameras are old and are failing. The new technology is wireless, but the migration will be expensive. We are building the CIP and are looking for input. There may be grant funding for us to explore regarding body cameras.

          Chief Allen said that many agencies are using or still evaluating body cameras. In five years, most agencies will be using them.

          Comm. Levesque asked about feedback. Is it cumbersome for the officers?

          Chief Allen said the technology is there. Those that implement them, officer complaints have gone down, injuries have gone down, the success rate of court cases has gone up. There are quantifiable results that show the value of implementing that technology aside from the obvious of transparency. This is what the public is demanding which is clear from events unfolding across the country. Its easy to show the value, but its costly to implement. It boils down to money. We will look at ways to do that, either through grants or budgets but I’d like to move in that direction.

          Comm. Peters asked if we’ve done any research?

          Chief Allen said we have. It was a big topic at the last IACP conference and there were vendors and seminars on them. There is a lot of competition out there and many options available when we are ready to move forward.

          Comm. Peters noted his concern for the shelf life and life expectancy if you spend thousands and in two years its obsolete. Would you phase it in?

          Dep. Chief Dumas said we will always be chasing technology. We are now with the cruiser cameras. We started with a VHS tape in the trunk, to discs and now wireless is available.

          Chief Allen said that we’d look at all options and seek the most cost effective way to achieve the results we are looking for.

          Comm. Lindsay asked would each officer have a body camera of their own. Do the benefits outweigh what we have now?          

            Chief Allen said right now we are limited to what the camera sees with the dash mount. The body cameras are worn on the lapel or the glasses. Everything the officer sees the camera sees. Technology is rapidly advancing.

            Comm. Lindsay said that during his ride along the cruiser camera showed also what was happening inside the car.

            Comm. Peters asked if they would record from beginning to end of shift?

            Chief Allen said no. You wouldn’t want the victim of a DV or a juvenile victim of sexual assault on a body camera. All of that will be dictated by policy. The IACP has research and model policies which are available to us. After we work those out, we’d work with legal counsel to make sure we are covering all we need to.

          Comm. Lindsay asked if locally anyone uses body cameras?

          Chief Allen said Milton PD uses them and speaks highly of them.

          Comm. Levesque said that legal counsel can start checking into the legal issues of us having this technology.

          Chief Allen said we’ve started to look at it. Money holds us back. When the timing is right we do want to move in that direction.

6.        CORRESPONDENCE:

          Comm. Lindsay read off the letters we received. He said its very good for the Department to have so many letters come in praising the work that is done. We don’t always receive it and its good when the public recognizes the Department. He added we have back up of single and sometimes multiple letters regarding a particular activity. Det. Rousseau’s efforts in investigating fraudulent checks involved 13 different arrests. The credit union wrote a very nice letter regarding this. It’s impressive.

            Service Credit Union thanks Det. Rousseau for his work on multiple fraud reports during the past year. Off. Flathers and Lt. Thomas are thanked for their compassion by a citizen in crisis. Sgt. Cost is recognized by the Board of Directors for the East Coast Gang Investigators Association for his distinguished service. Det. Chris Mangum is thanked by a former resident for the compassion and respect, even in the worst of times that he showed to their family. The Spaulding High School Senate thanks the Department for security services and keeping the student body safe during a recent pep rally and bonfire. Secretary Becky Warburton is thanked for participating in the City’s Adopt a Spot Program. County Attorney Thomas Velardi recognizes Officer Powers for outstanding efforts in investigating a domestic violence case. Sgt. Emerson recognizes Det. Mundy’s job performance in teamwork and attitude. Officers’ Forrest, Benjamin, Balint, Kimbrough, and Hayes are recognized for good work in an investigation that led to an arrest. Off. Moore is thanked by Ms. Morgan for his compassionate care during a recent death. 

7.        INFORMATION: No additional discussion.

8.        NON-PUBLIC SESSION: (Pursuant to:  RSA 91-A:3) 

Commissioner Peters MOVED to enter a nonpublic session at 8:23 P.M. pursuant to RSA 91-A: 3, paragraph II, section A (personnel) and section E (legal.) SECOND by Comm. Lindsay. The motion PASSED by roll call vote 3 – 0 with Comm.  Peters, Comm. Lindsay and Comm. Levesque voting in the affirmative.  The non-public session closed at 9:15 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Peters, SECOND by Comm. Lindsay and PASSED unanimously.

9.        MISCELLANEOUS:

Comm. Peters MOVED to award merit increases on the respective anniversary dates to Off. Jeremiah Murphy (3.95%); Off. Eric Ball (3%); Off. John Harding (3.25%) and Off. Robert Frechette (3.6%). Comm. Lindsay SECONDED the motion and it PASSED unanimously.

10.     ADJOURNMENT:

Comm. Lindsay MOVED to adjourn. SECOND by Comm. Peters at 9:19 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted

Rebecca J. Warburton

Secretary