Rindge Police Department

Annual Report 2007

The Rindge Police Department continues to focus on the department's vision to provide professional, community-based policing service to the community of Rindge.  As the Town continues to grow and prosper, we must work together in ensuring that the Police Department has an adequate budget and personnel strength to meet the demands of the community.  It is our commitment to the people of Rindge that we will continue to seek out cost-saving programs that will assist us in our mission of providing effective and efficient service to our community.

The year 2007 also brought a few changes to the Rindge Police Department with a couple of officers finishing up academy classes this year to start careers here in Rindge. It was a goal in 2007 to maintain a full compliment of officers in order to continue to reduce costs for the town. This was accomplished with the hiring of Rachel Derosier to full-time status and Scott Radford to part-time.  Rachel is not new to the police profession.  Prior to coming to Rindge, she worked for the Cheshire County Sheriff's Department as a full-time dispatcher. Rachel completed the full-time police academy in November. Scott is new to the police profession but is familiar with Rindge having run a bike shop here in Rindge for two years. Scott completed the part-time academy in June 2007.  With these two officers in training for approximately four months, it left the department short-handed which resulted in fewer things being accomplished within the town and the department. This year we also hired Michelle Szalanski to assist with the increased administrative responsibilities in the department and to extend the hours of operation to better serve the public.   At this time I would like to welcome all of them and their families to the Rindge Police Department and the Town of Rindge

As we close on the year 2007, the Police Department would like to thank many of our community members and businesses that not only helped the Police Department in the past year, but made the Town of Rindge a safer place to live, work, go to school and visit. Partnerships with such entities as Boss Construction, Rindge Car Wash, Dunkin Donuts, Foggs, Valley Marina and Recreation, Alpine Motors, Wal-Mart, Franklin Pierce University, RAMS and many others that enable us to carry our mission of public service in greater ways than we ever thought possible.

This past year we again focused on working with the Public Safety Building Committee to have a new Public Safety Building designed and ready to be voted on for our annual Town Meeting in March of 2008. (Please Vote YES) The building committee consisted of Ted Covert, Dick Isakson, Jake Pyhala, Hector Morin, Rob Jackson and Tom Peragallo. I would like to thank each of them for their continued support and understanding of what it has taken to get this project completed. They have dedicated hundreds of hours to ensure Rindge gets a building that is not only very much needed, it is a building that is affordable for the community of Rindge and will meet the needs of the police department and the community for the next twenty years. Thanks to all of you.

While this report will summarize the statistical aspects of what the Police Department accomplished in 2007, we want to emphasis the significant deeds that our members completed throughout last year.

In June of 2007, members of our department and others participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run to raise money for New Hampshire Special Olympics.  They raised $1,600 towards the cause.  In February 2007, several participated in the Penguin Plunge in Hampton Beach.  The Winter Games in Waterville Valley and the Summer Games in Durham were attended by officers.  Awards were handed out at the Winter Games and the torch was brought into the stadium at the Summer Games. 

This year's fundraiser in conjunction with the Rindge Athletic Men's Association (RAMS) to raise money for the RAMS boosters as well as the Rindge Police Department and Fire Department was a huge success.  We again hired All-Pro Productions to handle the fundraising and arrangements for the All-Star Night of Comedy held at Hidden Hills on October 12, 2007.  Due to the generosity of all those who attended and other contributors, we were able to raise a lot of money to put towards the community.  Contributions were received from Rindge residents and businesses as well as many other contributors from around the Monadnock region and into Massachusetts.  All contributors were shown in the calendar that was passed out that night, either in a listing or with the ads that were purchased.  Our grateful thanks to all those who made this show and fundraising such a huge success.  We look forward to 2008 and hope to be able to increase its popularity and bring townspeople together with the public safety providers within the Town of Rindge. The money we raised through this event allowed the Police, Fire and Rams to donate thousands of dollars for many projects throughout the community.

This year the Rindge Police Department will again be able to offer a scholarship at the High school for a graduating senior to further their education.  The Police Department will continue to support and work closely with Cub Scout Pack 308, as well as provide mentorship to the Boy Scouts during the next year.  We will also continue to have interns from the local high schools and Franklin Pierce University who express an interest in pursuing a law enforcement career.

Grant Administration

The Police Department took a proactive approach to grant opportunities throughout 2007.  We successfully obtained two highway safety grants this past year. One was to have an additional officer on patrol to seek out Drunk Drivers and reduce the number of traffic accidents around Rindge. The second one was to have an additional officer on patrol during peak traffic times to detect motor vehicle operators violating motor vehicle laws. These grants paid for the overtime accrued during the enforcement details. 

We also received two additional grants from Highway Safety this year to allow us to purchase a Speed Trailer and to purchase In-Car Video Systems for three of our cruisers. These pieces of equipment cost $30,405 and were paid for through the Drug Forfeiture Fund and the town was reimbursed for $13,500.

Rindge Police has also participated in PAACC details in order to control underage purchase and use of alcohol along with decreasing the incidents of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  The Cheshire County Sheriff's Department instituted this grant. As always, we will continue to seek out alternative funding programs to offset the impact of our budgetary needs in order to provide the best service to our community.

Operations

We have seen a significant increase in calls for service and criminal offenses in the Town of Rindge again this year. In 2007, the police department handled 1,174 offenses, while filing 713 criminal investigation reports.  The proper reporting of crime is absolutely essential to an investigation and having the ability to properly investigate these crimes is essential to any police organization.  The police department was inundated with investigations this past year, ranging from minor property crime to serious felony cases.  There were 418 arrests made during 2007 and these arrests ranged from motor vehicle violations to major criminal arrests.  General calls for service amounted to 15,730. The attached graph will show the general increase of calls for service over the past five years.

During 2007, Rindge Officers conducted over 9,664 business and residential checks. This year the amount of business and residential checks dropped significantly due to being short two officers for four months of training and the increase of calls at Franklin Pierce University.  The University continues to place a burden on the resources of the community.   Both this year and last year we have been working aggressively with the University to change that in order to reduce the strain on municipal services the University requires from the Town of Rindge.

 In light of the increased calls for service, the Police Department also tries very hard to be proactive to reduce accidents and crime by having an aggressive motor vehicle patrol program. This year we will continue applying for grants and to partner with other communities and use equipment they have available to reduce speeding within the community.

 In 2007, the department handled the following motor vehicle related incidents:

·      13 DWI Arrests

·      132 Reportable accidents 

·      Issued 1,200 warnings

·      Issued 397 summonses
With the limited resources within our department, it is not physically possible to have the roads in town patrolled as much as residents would prefer – especially with speeding issues. With the residential and commercial growth that is happening within the Town of Rindge, it will be even more difficult to have an officer staged on streets to watch for traffic violations. The officers must be available to respond to all types of calls. We will continue to make every attempt to address citizens' complaints about speeding and other violations that are reported to us.  

 Our Animal Control Officer handled over 681 animal complaints throughout the year.  We have developed a new forfeiture process regarding animal situations and will proactively address the chronic and repeat animal issues to ensure a reasonable balance between animal ownership and quality of rural life. Thanks Larry for doing such a good job.

Department Goals

 Several of the Rindge Police Department goals are long term and on-going in nature.  To achieve the goals of quality, professional and ethical service; the Department must continue to remind itself that it exists to service the entire community.  We have strived to ensure that our officers receive quality and up-to-date training and provide them with the necessary tools to get the job done.  While we have achieved many of our objectives during the past years, we are committed to these short term and long-term goals:                                                

 •    To continue to effectively address quality-of-life issues that require police intervention in the community.  Our position and philosophy of community-based policing will help us involve the community in problem solving and address these issues as they surface.

 •    Career Development of our officers to ensure they grow as professionals, which also includes retaining these good officers.  This will be accomplished through training, skill assessment and interest identification.

 •    We will continue to maintain a collaborative relationship with Franklin Pierce University, the School District, as well as other federal, state and local agencies.

 •   We will continue to address the Capital Improvement Plan for the Department, primarily addressing the future prospect of an improved Public Safety Building for the Police and Fire Departments.

 I would now like to thank the members of the Rindge Police Department over this past year: Frank Morrill, David Blake, Dan Anair, Andy Wood, Nick Weeks, Joseph Hazelrigg, Rachel Derosier, John Vargas,  Scott Radford, Larry Harris,  Evelyn Lewis, Michelle Szalanski and Martha Jacques. As each year comes and goes, the members of the police department continue to adapt to what is required of us. At times it is frustrating and other times it is very exciting but the two areas that we hope remain consistent are the relationships within the department and more importantly within the community. Thank you all for being patient and supporting the community.

 On behalf of all the members of the Rindge Police Department, we want to thank the community for their support throughout the past.  We must remember that it is up to all of us to be involved in the safety of this community.  We encourage all of our community members to become involved, report suspicious activity, drive responsibly and be proactive with your own house and family safety issues.

 Together, we will move forward to ensure that Rindge remains safe and a community we all can be proud of.

 On behalf of my staff,

I respectfully submit this annual report. 

Michael J. Sielicki

 Michael J. Sielicki
Police Chief