Essex police chief presents draft discipline and internal‑affairs policies, staffing updates and equipment plan

At the meeting the Essex police chief presented draft policy updates and operational changes to the community advisory board and asked members to review the documents and submit comments via staff. The drafts include an updated discipline guideline and an internal‑affairs policy adapted from a model used by the state criminal justice advisory group; the chief said he removed references to an older internal review‑board structure and that discipline will be administered consistent with the department’s union contract.

The chief asked board members to read the packets and provide written comments to Alyssa ahead of the next meeting so the group can discuss any concerns. He also said the town’s selectboard has authorized purchases to replace worn body and in‑car cameras and to acquire new tasers; he estimated the two purchases together would cost about $250,000.

On staffing, the chief reported recent hires who will start after academy training, noted several officers currently on leaves (FMLA and a National Guard deployment), and said some specialty positions (drug enforcement, traffic and other units) had been temporarily pulled to bolster patrol. He acknowledged that reassigning a traffic officer reduced dedicated traffic enforcement capacity and asked the board to consider that context when discussing traffic safety concerns.

The chief also described recent recruitment efforts and a short recruitment video posted on the department’s Facebook page intended to attract applicants. Members praised the social‑media outreach and credited staff work on the video. The chief requested board feedback on the draft policies over the next few weeks so that any major concerns can be discussed at the next meeting.

Next steps: board members to send policy comments to Alyssa for compilation; the chief will return to discuss substantive feedback.