Laconia police present budget requests for crime analyst, patrol staffing and $200,000 real‑time video center grant

Chief Canfield presented the Laconia Police Department's budget priorities and recent activity figures at the Laconia City Council budget meeting on June 9.

Canfield said the department responded to a total of 20,401 calls for service in 2024 and investigated 3,735 criminal offenses, and described the department’s mission as “to enhance the quality of life for residents, business people, and visitors to the city of Laconia.”

The request matters to taxpayers and public‑safety planning because Canfield identified salaries, overtime and contracted services as the primary drivers of the department’s proposed increases and described new position requests intended to support crime prevention and investigative capacity.

Most immediately, the department has asked the council to restore a former administrative assistant role (previously split into two part‑time positions) to full time and to add a full‑time crime analyst. Canfield said the crime analyst would “support the real time crime center, as well as assist with cyber investigations in the detective unit” and enable “intelligence led police and predictive police” work to direct resources by statistical analysis.

Canfield said the department’s total authorized allocation is 45 sworn officers and that it was staffed at 40 officers at the time of the presentation; three candidates were slated to begin in July, which Canfield said would bring the department to 43 of 45 positions. He also said four additional positions (bringing the technical allocation to 49) are funded by grants tied to the department’s PET program.

Canfield outlined recent grant support and technology plans. He said the department received $3,177,000 in grants over the past five years to fund equipment and other nonrecurring needs “with no long term obligations to the city.” He also said the department had received a $200,000 grant “to help kick [the real‑time crime center] off.” Canfield described the planned center as a system that would aggregate video from multiple sources to speed evidence collection — for example, allowing staff to assemble neighborhood‑video feeds more quickly than door‑to‑door requests.

On accountability and training, Canfield noted the department’s CALEA accreditation status and training totals. He said the agency had advanced to tier‑2 CALEA accreditation, which he described as a standards‑heavy credential covering hundreds of policies and annual remote compliance reviews and four‑year site assessments. He said officers receive 48 hours of in‑service training annually and that the department logged additional specialty training hours.

Councilors asked clarifying questions about the duration and sustainability of grant‑funded positions. When asked how long the grant that backfills four positions would continue to cover those posts, Canfield replied “Right now, it’s another year. However, we’ll work on an application to extend that for another period of time.” He also explained that two positions had been included as part of an arrangement with the attorney general’s office and that those positions were not newly requested for the current budget.

Councilor Cheney praised the department’s work during the public discussion, saying, “I am amazed at how well he’s done for the city of Laconia and we’re lucky to have him.”

Discussion versus decision: the presentation summarized department operations and requested positions and funding; no formal vote or appropriation occurred during the meeting. Councilors signaled interest in follow‑up questions and the manager noted contingency and other budget lines that could affect final allocations.

Next steps: the council and city manager will continue budget deliberations; Canfield said grant extensions and hiring timelines remain subject to application outcomes and staffing availability.