Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Laconia Police Commission reviews April patrol stats, schedules budget presentation and nonpublic session
Summary
At its May 20 meeting the Laconia Police Commission heard April activity reports and an IT outage update from Chief Matthew J. Canfield, approved corrected April minutes, scheduled a budget presentation for June 8 and agreed to a nonpublic session for June 26; motions passed unanimously.
The Laconia Police Commission met May 20 and accepted corrected minutes from its April 22 meeting before hearing a series of department reports and scheduling upcoming meetings.
Chief Matthew J. Canfield told commissioners the department responded to 2,276 calls for service in April, conducted 499 extra patrols and investigated 340 criminal offenses, clearing 184 by arrest. The patrol division logged 51 parking tickets, 34 motor vehicle accidents (11 involving injuries), 425 motor vehicle stops and 63 motor-vehicle summonses. "We made nine DWI arrests for the month," Canfield said.
Canfield described an upcoming Highway Safety Enforcement Initiative funded by New Hampshire Highway Safety that will increase targeted enforcement this spring and summer, focusing on hands-free cellphone enforcement, crosswalk and speeding violations, and DWI patrols. "This is paid for entirely by New Hampshire Highway Safety," he said.
The commission discussed registration of sex offenders; Captain Grady said registrants must reregister or deregister with the department when they move and confirmed the department can track both incoming and outgoing registrants, estimating about 90 registrants living in the city at any one time.
Canfield and staff also described a recent internal hardware failure affecting computer systems. "This was not a cyber attack," Canfield said, praising staff and outside contractors who worked overnight to restore services. He said the department maintains cloud backups and has the ability to spin up systems remotely; a redundancy drill is planned to test that capability.
On operational matters, the department reported training and community work: officers attended bike and body-worn-camera training; five e-bikes are available for patrol; three recruits graduated from the police academy and are at various stages of field training; and community outreach included a recent visit by a local academy class. Canfield said the department is preparing for Motorcycle Week (June 13–20) and a partner briefing is scheduled; a bike rodeo with helmet giveaways from the Dartmouth Children's Foundation is planned for June 24.
Budget materials in the packet used a new internal format that commissioners said was easier to review. Canfield said the department is under budget year-to-date and projected a smaller underrun than the May 1 snapshot suggested. He noted a separate budget item referenced in the packet as "2627," which he said was already completed and offered to review with commissioners at a later date.
During public comment, Diane Lockwood of Ward 2 urged more public education on bike etiquette and raised concerns about e-bikes, saying sidewalk bicycle riding is already restricted for most riders. She also thanked department staff for their work on the computer outage.
The commission confirmed its next regular meeting for June 17 and agreed to schedule a nonpublic session for Tuesday, June 26 at 10 a.m. A motion to adjourn, recorded by the chair as moved by Commissioner Malo and seconded by Commissioner Davis, passed unanimously; the meeting ended at approximately 2:25 p.m.
