Laconia Police Commission reviews monthly stats, approves out‑of‑state training and hears plans for Route 106 enforcement

The Laconia Police Commission on March 19 accepted previous meeting minutes, approved out‑of‑state travel for a supervisor training course and reviewed the police department’s February statistics and several operational plans, including an enhanced enforcement effort on Route 106.

Chief Canfield told the commission the department responded to 2,011 calls for service in February — “which is up 9.91%,” he said — and reported increases in patrol activity, investigations and community contacts. He said the department has applied for a grant to build an evidence and equipment storage facility “to keep evidence out of the weather” and to preserve non‑emergency vehicles and equipment.

The commission approved a training request for Oscar Richard Bassett to attend an FBI LITA supervisor class in Sanford, Maine, April 14–18; Bassett will travel daily and not stay overnight in Maine, the commission was told. The motion to approve the out‑of‑state travel passed unanimously.

Canfield described several operations items under way: a new procedure developed with the county attorney’s office to streamline warrants and probable‑cause hearings, planning for Motorcycle Week (beginning on Father’s Day weekend), recent in‑service training on mental health and use of force, and coordination with the school district on training related to the Child Advocacy Center.

Traffic and enforcement figures for February included 87 parking tickets and 680 motor vehicle stops; the department investigated 44 crashes (six with injury), issued 38 summonses and 561 written warnings. The department reported 69 snow‑ban citations (midnight–sunrise) among parking enforcement totals.

On budget, Canfield said the commission is 71.15% of the way through the budget year and that the department was 1.512% under budget, “which equates to $135,579.39 under budget,” he said. The commission received monthly criminal investigations statistics describing new case assignments, follow ups, search warrants and other investigative work.

Canfield announced an enhanced enforcement campaign on the Route 106 corridor from March 30 to April 5, coordinated with New Hampshire Highway Safety and neighboring jurisdictions, focused on distracted driving and other violations following a series of serious crashes. He also reported the department sent 1,086 SpyderTech messages in February, up 11.7%, and said the department’s customer‑service survey completion rate was 20.7%.

There was a brief personnel note: Officer Tyler Babineau submitted a resignation to leave law enforcement for other opportunities; commissioners acknowledged the resignation and remarked the officer will be missed. The commission also heard correspondence and citizen comments, including a request to schedule a vendor presentation about department software and a discussion about the vendor cost that staff said was reduced from about $150,000 to about $100,000 per year.

Procedural motions at the meeting included acceptance of the February meeting minutes and special March 12 minutes (approved unanimously) and a motion to adjourn, which passed unanimously. The commission noted there will be no April meeting due to availability and will schedule a May meeting.

The commission’s discussion was mainly informational and administrative; the only formal votes were approval of minutes, the training travel request and adjournment.