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, April 1, 2015. Present at this meeting was Comm. Levesque, Comm. Lindsay, Comm. Peters, Chief Allen, Capt. Boudreau, Chaplain Lachapelle and Secretary Warburton as well as members of the public and the Department.

               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 Commissioners present.   

2.           PUBLIC COMMENT: 

   There was no public comment.

3.           ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES:            

A.  March 4, 2015 regular meeting

Comm. Peters MOVED to accept the minutes of the March 4, 2015 regular meeting as presented. SECOND by Comm. Lindsay and PASSED unanimously.

4.           OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 

    There was no old business for discussion     

5.           NEW BUSINESS:

               A.  Awards and Recognitions

               1. Lifesaving Award – Off. Randy Smith; Off. John Bourque, Off. Andrew Jackson and Lt. Todd Pinkham. Chief Allen noted we are recognizing several officers for helping save the lives of two people. This award is given when an officer saves or attempts to save a life. This involved two separate incidents of overdosing on Heroin. This is unfortunately a problem of epidemic proportions not just here but across the country. Their efforts were instrumental in saving these lives. 

               The first incident was in January when Officer Smith responded to an unresponsive male on Washington Street. Officer Smith found the person was unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse. He immediately took quick action and began CPR and was able to successfully revive him. The Rochester Fire Department and Frisbie EMS administered Narcan. The quick actions of all involved saved this person’s life.

               The second incident also occurred in January. Off. Bourque, Off. Jackson and Lt. Pinkham responded for another reported Heroin overdose for a female found unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse. The officers took action beginning CPR and using the AED until Frisbie EMS personnel arrived to take over treatment of this person.  The quick actions of all involved saved this person’s life.

               Chief Allen said I congratulate the officers. I and the Commission are proud of each of them, as I am sure their families and those individuals who were saved are as well.

               B. Community Outreach Overview              

               1. Crisis Intervention Team. Sgt. Michael Brinkman presented on the Crisis Intervention Team. He was recently made team leader upon the retirement of Sgt. Stephen Burke.

               Sgt. Brinkman noted that Crisis Intervention Teams began in 1987 in Memphis Tennessee, after the police shot and killed a 27 year old mentally ill man. The action outraged the community and police and the public were adversarial. They came together and developed a design to help officers identify and deal with mentally ill people.

               The Rochester Police Department has had a crisis intervention team since 2009. We were the first in the State of NH to do so, but only one of six states remaining at the time that didn’t have such a team. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is a community partnership working with mental health consumers and family members. Our goal is to set a standard of excellence for our officers with respect to treatment of individuals with mental illness. We started with 10 officers, and currently have 11 officers certified. We average approximately 320 calls per year.

               Officers serving on the team volunteer to be on the team and are required to undergo 40 hours of extensive training and 8 hours of additional annual recertification training. CIT Officers are called upon to respond to crisis calls that present officers with complex issues dealing with mental health issues and they will work with the community to resolve each situation in a manner that shows the utmost concern for the citizen’s well being. The officers will do their best to direct and assist consumers and their families in finding available programs and resources for assistance in treating their illness.

               The goals of the Crisis Intervention Team are to implement a community-oriented, innovative community policing model for responding to psychiatric emergencies; to reduce the number of arrests and incarcerations for non-violent offenses of people with mental illness; to build a strong and lasting relationship between law enforcement, mental health care providers, and families of and people with mental illness in our local community; to provide 40 hours of specialized CIT training to interested and qualified area police officers to improve their ability to interact with people in psychiatric crisis.

               Officers Receive Training in: Suicide Prevention , Family Perspectives , Personality Disorders, Psychiatric Meds and Toxicology, De-Escalation Skills and Role Plays, Consumer Perspectives, Legal Issues, Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders, Alzheimer's Disease, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Involuntary Emergency Hospitalizations and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

               Before the implementation of CIT Officers were not prepared to deal with the mentally ill. Family members of the mentally ill distrusted police and the police were only called after situations escalated beyond their control. The Criminal Justice and Mental Health systems were adversaries and Police response often resulted in arrest and injuries.

               After the implementation of CIT crisis response is immediate. Officers are highly skilled in verbal de-escalation techniques and family members of the mentally ill request CIT officers to respond in situations. Partnerships provide solutions to mental health issues and now most patients are taken to medical facilities without injury or charges.

               Sgt. Brinkman shared a success story of the CIT program. We responded to a call of a mother with a newborn baby who was in crisis. She was not responding to the officer who was asking typical police questions. It was clear she was a danger to her baby. When the officer reverted to CIT questions she responded and we were able to get her to go to the hospital for evaluation. In the past we would have had family members refer her to resources but because of the crisis team and the skills the officer learned, we got her to services that day.

                D.  Monthly Reports

               1. Operations. Capt. Boudreau noted that the investigations bureau completed a 13-month investigation into a felony-level fraud case at the Gafney Home. A suspect has been arrested and the case has been submitted to the County Attorney for prosecuting.

               We have been dealing with some high profile cases in particular, burglaries in the Stillwater Circle, Cemetery Road and Flagg Road areas. We are doing some random patrols and extra patrols based on the dates and times of the crimes. There have been numerous hours dedicated to uncover surveillance, as well as making contacts in the neighborhood.

               There was a high profile daytime burglary at Saks Mobile Home Park. We have developed suspects and this case remains under investigation.

               In the Communications Center we have three in various stages of training. Two of them went to the SPOTS certification school last week. One is in the final weeks of observation before being released to solo headset. We still have one open position to fill and the background is in progress.

               We are scheduled to have our NCIC audit this year. The state will come in May and the Federal will be in June. Sgt. Deluca is working to ensure a smooth audit.

               Teen night on March 7, 2015 was another successful event. There were 265 participants. The grant we were using to fund the program did expire, but we have had tremendous support from the community, including from Holy Rosary Credit Union who is sponsoring April’s event and from the American Legion and Rotary who will sponsor May’s event. We thank all of them for their generous donations to the program. 

               On the patrol side, there were no ward meetings in March, but four are scheduled to meet in April.

               Officer Mike Miehle will be our liaison for the Veteran’s Council armed forces day event at the Lilac Mall, scheduled for May 16. This is a great event for families.

               Our focus has been on motor vehicle enforcement, targeting high crime areas and potential drug areas in the city. We have had good success and despite the weather there were 1,108 traffic stops during the month.

               Chief Allen said property crime is historically a major issue and we have seen some really good short term results. We believe our proactive efforts targeting property crime is the reason that overall we are down 28% year to date.

               Shoplifting is down 46% year to date. Chief Allen said I bring this up because that’s been a serious problem for us and it takes resources and time responding to it, support staff time processing and court time to prosecute these cases. Having it down 46% is significant and we’re pleased with the early results on that.

               We’ve had a few different strategies in the past year to attack shoplifting. One of them was doing press releases on every single arrest regardless of the dollar value. We did that for almost a year and a half with the understanding that it was long term results we were looking for, and we are starting to see that.  I’ve been asked and I know others have inquired of Foster’s why they were not printing shoplifting arrests. The answer is we are not doing press releases for every event. We are not highlighting it, but information on the log is public information. 

               We are refocusing our efforts on what we believe is the prevailing problem which is drugs. We are focusing our motor vehicle enforcement in areas of known drug activity. The comp stat process is dynamic. We put resources where we need them and adjust strategies to timing to be efficient and effective. The data that drives our activities it is not random. I offer that explanation for people wondering why we do the things we do.

               In other comp stat numbers we had a 91% increase in drug investigations not just locally but also through the collaborative efforts of the county task force and our officers assigned there. That is making an impact in this community on the drug trade. Arrests for drug related crimes are up 94% year to date. It’s a short term impact but our refocused efforts are paying off. 

               We have doubled our traffic enforcement over last year.

               Comm. Lindsay said that a couple of meetings ago there was a question as to why Ward 6 numbers were so high. He said Lt. Bossi said it’s due to the Police Department being located in Ward 6 and calls that come into the station are logged at the Police Department address.

               Chief Allen said that is part of it. But the density map in your report under calls for service will show some locations in Ward 6 are the mall, Walgreen’s, Cumberland Farms, the high school, and the Police Department. The other wards don’t have that density and location types that would cause those numbers to be what they are in Ward 6.

               Comm. Lindsay said folks are saying it’s the downtown.

               Chief Allen said people assume that, but the data shows that not to be the case. The downtown location is subjective. We consider it to be one mile out from the center of town. Is the majority of the activity happening in the square? No. There is some but that is not what is driving the high number of calls in Ward 6.

               Comm. Peters said the activity is getting back to the basics. More officers are on patrol.

               Chief Allen said staffing has significantly improved over last year. We are at full staff as of April 13, 2015. We have three graduating the academy on April 10. They will go through field training for 8-10 weeks and be released to solo patrol just in time for warm weather. We are looking forward to being at full staff coming into peak activity for the summer. We haven’t been there in three years or longer.

               Comm. Peters said all the field numbers are up and for the right reasons. From the stops they are showing a lot of initiative.

               Chief Allen replied that staffing has a lot to do with that. When you have the staff it allows you to do more proactive vs. reactive police work. That is why you see those numbers as high as they are. This is what we want more than “putting out fires” going call to call. It’s how we make an impact in the community.  The things we have been able to do by re deploying officers in patrol and retaining officers is really making a big difference in the Department, not just in activity but in the morale of the officers due to increased staffing. I’d like to keep it that way moving forward.

               2. Administration.  We are set to present our budget to the Council on May 12, 2015. Overtime is an issue every month. We are doing well on the police side, but are slightly overspent if you calculate in the comp time payout. We credit line supervision for really managing that and making sure that only necessary overtime is used.

               The bi-annual bids for maintenance agreements are going out. You will see those advertised in the paper. Comm. Levesque asked that the Commission see these before they go to Council.

               Over in hiring, Officer Marvin was released to solo patrol this week. As previously noted three will graduate from the academy on April 10; and our newest officer will start on April 13, 2015.

               The new tablet project is moving forward. We are beta testing one unit in the car to work out any kinks. We’ve found we need to look at a different mounting platform. We’ll soon be able to deploy these in every car.

               The technology is amazing and we credit our Information Technology employee George Murray. He is doing a phenomenal job troubleshooting issues. This project is going to increase efficiency of the officers on the street. It will streamline multiple pieces of equipment for difference functions and put them all in one device at significant cost savings. The efficiency and the cost savings are two of the biggest reasons we are excited to get this rolled out and fully implemented. The feedback from the officers is positive.

               The state has set regulations for law enforcement to have the ability to carry and administer Narcan. This has been in the works for a while and once the regulations and training are in place I can update you. I recently met with the Director of EMS at Frisbie Hospital. They are supportive of the program and we are working with them on developing a policy on how the Narcan will be carried by officers, when it will be used and all the issues associated with using Narcan to ensure we are covering all our bases.

               The way it will work is Frisbie EMS is the provider for the City of Rochester. The officers will be licensed after they complete training under Frisbie’s license. That is how it is done in the Fire Department. This will be a great tool for us. We’ve really aggressively pursued meeting the training requirement standards so we can get a policy before the Commission and implement this program. Having it available for officers can make a difference.

               Comm. Peters said he is not opposed to it, but he would like more information on the training, and the cost on how many officers will be trained.

               Chief Allen said there are side effects of Narcan and other medical issues that can be associated with the after effects. The first aid and CPR program is more extensive than what we already do, so we will have to provide that additional training in order to carry the Narcan. There is also some on line training through the state that will have to be completed, and lastly some practical application in deploying to show officers how to administer the Narcan.

               Comm. Peters inquired if we will be using the nasal application and Chief Allen replied that we will be.

               Chief Allen said there are some added potential costs with the training, but in his perspective we are talking about saving lives. Whenever you can give officers more training it is money well spent. We are costing it out and I will get that to you. It is still in development.

               Comm. Peters asked if Frisbie will provide the training.

               Chief Allen said we have a certified instructor and will do as much as we can on duty, but there will be some training overtime associated with this. Frisbie will certify our officers under their license and they will do the portion of how to administer the Narcan. I’ve had good extensive discussion with them on this. I’m confident in working out the administrative issues. I also recently met with the CEO of Frisbie and he is supportive of this as well. I know they have to run this through their legal department.

               Comm. Peters asked if Frisbie will provide the Narcan.

               Chief Allen said they will, at no cost to us, and they will handle the reporting piece to the State. All of this will be covered in policy.

               Comm. Lindsay asked if this is mandatory.

               Chief All said everyone will be trained and certified. There is discretion and judgment to deploy Narcan.

               Is the Union is supportive of this?

               Chief Allen said they are. There were some concerns of liability. That was one of the issues discussed with them. They have been assured it is no more with this than CPR or any other life saving measure we take.

               D.  Other.

               1. FY15 Budget. Comm. Peters asked for next month can the Commission have an idea on lines in the budget that may be over or under; assuming we will finish in the black.

               Chief Allen said typically this time of year lines get overspent. You build a budget on your prior year expenses and best guess moving forward. There hasn’t been a year where certain lines go over. We look at the overall bottom line and transfer accordingly to compensate, with the assistance of the finance director to ensure that line items are covered. We project out where we think we will be at the end of the year. I am confident we will be well in the black at the end of the year, but there are lines that will be overspent. Its like managing your own checkbook, you cover one with the other.

               Chief Allen said wages and benefits are typically used at the end of the year to cover shortfalls. That is not the ideal way to use  wages to cover non wage line items. None of this is done without the blessing of the finance director. We do a financial reporting of our budget to the finance committee every single month. I attend those meetings to answer questions. We are very transparent with our budget and have no secrets.

               Comm. Peters said for example, vehicle maintenance is showing 130% overspent. Do we adjust that next year so that won’t happen again?

               Chief Allen said I can give you a projection that shows where we project all those to be at the end of the year.

               2. Cruisers. Comm. Levesque asked if all the front line cruisers are marked and if we are down any cruisers? He said that he saw an unmarked car making a traffic stop, with an officer in full uniform. This was Monday evening between 1900 and 1915 hours.

               Chief Allen said it could have been the low profile car. It’s not typical for an unmarked car to make a traffic stop. We can look into the matter and report back.      

6.           CORRESPONDENCE:

               Correspondence for the month included:  Off. Marc Cilley is thanked by the Gray family for his compassionate care of the family during a death investigation. Officers’ Gantert, Marvin, Moore and Porfido; along with Specialists Bowley and Mcvay are recognized for teamwork in safely resolving a call involving an armed and suicidal person. Off. Jackson is thanked by a local Boy Scout troop earning merit badges for providing a tour of the Department. The Noble family thanks Off. Benjamin for addressing a safety concern regarding snow plowing. Mr. Beauregard recognizes Off. Benjamin for positive portrayal of the Department during a recent traffic stop. Debra Altschiller of A Safe Place/ Sexual Assault Support Services thanks the Department for participating in “No More” Week; a national movement to end Domestic and Sexual violence. The Seacoast Foster Grandparents thanks Nicole Rodler for a presentation. Det. Steven Bourque is thanked by Chief Faulkner of Hinsdale for assistance with an ICAC (internet crimes against children) investigation.

               Louise Korn recognized HUD Officer Tom Blair for his attentiveness to his position and for assisting her after she fell while cleaning her car following a storm. Comm. Lindsay read Ms. Korn’s letter into the record which sent to him personally to recognize Off. Blair. Off. Keith MacKenzie has been selected as the NH Police, Fire and EMS Foundation Outstanding Police Officer of the Year 2015. Off. Keith MacKenzie will be recognized by the US Police Canine Association for Top Patrol Case of the Year 2015.

7.           INFORMATION:

              No additional discussion.

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

Commissioner Peters MOVED to enter a nonpublic session at 8:21 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 all three commissioners voting in the affirmative.  The non-public session closed at 8:44 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Peters, SECOND by Comm. Lindsay and PASSED unanimously.

9.           MISCELLANEOUS:

Comm. Peters MOVED to award a merit increase on the respective anniversary dates to Off. Brenden Bentz (2.25%) Comm. Lindsay SECONDED the motion and it PASSED unanimously.

10.        ADJOURNMENT:

Comm. Lindsay MOVED to adjourn. SECOND by Comm. Peters at 8:46 P.M.

                                                                                                        Respectfully Submitted

Rebecca J. Warburton

Secretary