Dunbarton Police Department

2003

Introduction

This has been an excellent year for our Department. As always, I want to extend my appreciation to the Selectmen, the Town Office Staff, the members of the Dunbarton Fire Department, the Dunbarton Highway Department and Transfer Station staff, the Dunbarton Elementary School Staff and all of the folks of Dunbarton who make this such a special community. Especially, I want to thank the dedicated members of the Dunbarton Police Department.

After almost two years of self-assessment, we had our On-Site Assessment by members of the Northern New England Police Accreditation Committee and were awarded Level I and II State Accreditation. This accomplishment represents a substantial, and continuing, effort by all members of our Department. In the process we created a written directive system that documents a quality set of policies and procedures, we remodeled our physical plant (with volunteer labor), we have continued to up-grade our equipment and improve our training in order to meet best practices industry standards. Our goal is to achieve national accreditation (CALEA), which will require us to meet approximately 200 additional standards (over 400 standards in all). Accreditation is a dynamic and vital process that helps to create a culture that demands constant self-assessment with a focus on striving for excellence. The people of Dunbarton deserve no less.

It is essential to have quality equipment, drive safe vehicles and work more efficiently with a quality information system, but in the end it is all about your people. Our Auxiliary Officers (volunteers) have helped renovate our station, service our cruisers, help train our officers and assist with large events. Lenny LaMarca, our senior Auxiliary Officer, Beth LaMarca and George Patterson are the dedicated people who serve as Auxiliary Officers. Additionally, we started a Chaplain program this year. Cindy Bagley, Pastor of The Congregational Church of Dunbarton, has done an excellent hob providing care and support for people involved in critical incidents. These people give of their time and energy to support our Department and the people of this community.

Officer Joe Milioto is our senior Part Time Officer. He and Officer Rene Forcier have worked on call to handle our calls for service during the late evening hours and on weekends. Few communities our size provide 24 hours per day and 7 days per week coverage. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated and committed people as Officer Milioto and Officer Forcier who are willing to provide this service to our community. Scott Wilson retired this year, which has left three vacant Part Time Officer positions open. We have been very fortunate to have selected excellent people to fill these positions.

Officer Eric Blow is an experienced Juvenile Probation and Parole Officer for the State of New Hampshire. Officer Shayne Durant served in the Marine Corps and works for Coca-Cola as a District Sales Manager. Officer Mike Gorman served with the Goffstown Police Department for 22 years as a Part Time Officer. These people will help us move to more shift coverage, especially on the weekends.

Our secretary, Barbara McCann, has done an excellent job this year. She was a great help with our Accreditation process and transitioning to our new information system. Ms. McCann is very capable, considerate and professional.

Lastly, Master Patrolman Christopher Connelly has been a great addition. Chris has already contributed in a significant way to every part of our operation. He has been out during the evening hours, followed up on time-intensive investigations, helped remodel our station, helped with training, helped with our accreditation process and provided quality leadership. Chris is a well-educated and experienced officer who brings a lot to the table. More importantly, he is a decent human being who cares about the people he serves.

I am very proud of our people: it is our people who enable us to strive for excellence.

Activity

Call for Service	2001	2002	2003
Animal Complaint	53	60	86
Department Assist	15	26	47
Police Information	6	49	71
Investigation			12
Criminal Threatening	6	1	7
Illegal Dumping	9	6	10
Found Property			6
Welfare Check	3	9	6
Noise Complaint	11	12	8
Criminal Trespass	4	12	4
Walk and Talk			4
MV Crash- Deer			8
Civil Matter	28	17	13
Vacant Property Check	20	11	9
911 Call	5	29	27
Parking Complaint			2
Motorist Assist	8	16	31
Citizen Assist			72
Court			3
Abandoned Vehicle			21
Arrest	15	28	12
MV Crash	49	63	52
MV Complaint	23	23	4
MV Stop	205	210	450
Directed Patrol			22
Building Check			1
Juvenile	20	19	26
Criminal Mischief	13	30	30
General	85	262	63
Traffic Problem	6	11	9
Suspicious Vehicle	6	18	38
Suspicious Person	2	6	12
Sexual Assault			2
Burglary	8	6	3
Burglar Alarm			87
Unattended Death	2	2	4
Assault			5
Drugs			1
Theft	14	19	22
Intoxicated Subject			1
Fight	1	1	2
Domestic Violence	9	13	10
Shots Fired	5	16	16
Missing Person	1	4	3
Missing Juvenile			2
Vehicle Maintenance
Paperwork Service	26	48	43
OHRV Complaint	5	7	8
Crime Prevention	30	28	18
Community Policing			2
DARE	0	13	13
Disorderly Conduct			1
Fraud			1
Fingerprinting			2
Assist Fire	12	27	62
Follow Up			11
Harassment	2	10	3
Lost Property
Highway Call Out			9
Panic Alarm			1
Neighbor Dispute			3
Pistol Permit	19	28	37
Snow Plowing Complaint			17
VIN Verification	22	26	14
Total	748	1166	1557

I have tried hard to quantify as accurately as possible our calls for service. Until this year, we did not have a law enforcement information system, which caused some inconsistencies in the categories of calls for service. In 2001, I used a limited number of categories, which I refined and added to in 2002. One of the benefits of our new information system is that it will enable the categories to remain consistent year-to-year.

Department Goals

Our 2003 Department Goals were as follows:

1. Ensure that each officer completes 24 hours of training.

Met the goal: Each officer received over 30 hours of training.

2. Achieve Level I and II State Accreditation.

Met the goal: Awarded Level I and II in April.

3. Increase Motor Vehicle Enforcement by 10%.

Met the goal: We stopped 210 vehicles in 2002. In 2003 we stopped 450 vehicles.

4. Add one full time officer and one part time officer to the duty rotation.

Met the goal: We hired Chris Connelly and Eric Blow

5. Establish a Community Policing Officer position (filled by a volunteer Auxiliary Officer).

Met the goal: Auxiliary Officer LaMarca is our Community Policing Officer.

Our 2004 Goals are as follows:

1. Complete Enhanced Training for our part time officers to meet CALEA Standard 16.3.3

2. Comply with new State Standards for firearm qualification and find an appropriate firearms range for firearms training.

3. Begin covering shifts with our part time officers, especially on weekends.

4. Maintain Motor Vehicle education/enforcement efforts.

5. Explore the possibility of obtaining 2 equipped mountain bikes and a bike rack for our cruiser. These would be used for bike patrols in the OHRV park, Kimball Pond and other recreational areas and various neighborhoods.

6. Continue to keep our site on the Town’s web page current and informative.

Conclusion

I want to thank the people of Dunbarton for your support throughout the year and especially at last year’s Town Meeting. We have purchased new portable radios, a state-of-the-art information system and have hired an excellent full time officer because of your support. Please remember the Dunbarton Police Department is your police department. If I, or we, can ever be of any assistance please call our business number at 774-5500 or our dispatch number at 224-1232 if you need immediate service or to speak with an officer. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Sincerely,

Jeffrey S. Nelson

Chief of Police