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Chief outlines CALEA accreditation and new crime-analyst role; commissioners press for clear budget case
Summary
Chief Canfield told commissioners the department is starting a new CALEA accreditation cycle and plans to include an overview in the budget presentation; commissioners asked for a clear explanation of the crime analyst position, its expected outcomes and steps to reassure residents about privacy.
The Laconia Police Commission heard an update on accreditation and a staff proposal to fund a crime analyst and a real-time crime center, with the chief saying the matters will be addressed in the upcoming budget presentation to the city council.
"We are in the beginning of our new four-year cycle," Chief Canfield said of accreditation and said he intends to have Robin Moyer present an overview of what CALEA accreditation entails and how it differs from the state's accreditation process.
A commissioner asked that the department "lay out everything that you're awarded, accreditations, that kind of stuff" to help justify the investment. The commissioner pressed the chief to explain what the crime analyst position will do and what results the city can expect.
"It's the same video that we would get if we went and knocked and talked on multiple doors, but we could get it faster," Chief Canfield said of the crime analyst's ability to pull and collate video, adding the program would be "permission based" and not intended as surveillance.
The chief said the real-time crime center will be rolled out deliberately with community meetings to explain how data and private camera feeds would be used and to address privacy concerns. The chief and commissioners said they plan to present funding requests to the council this budget cycle, noting that this year they are seeking full funding for one crime-analyst position and may request additional coverage later.
What happens next: Chief Canfield said the accreditation overview and the crime-analyst/real-time center proposal will be part of the department's budget presentation to the city council, timing to be confirmed.
