2016 Annual Report

POLICE DEPARTMENT

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2016 Annual Report

The Annual Report of the Sandwich Police Department 

The drug/ heroin epidemic was in the news daily in 2016, not only locally but nationally. On both State and Federal levels legislators filed and passed funding bills for more treatment and enforcement. For Carroll County, that means a lot, as many people have worked tirelessly to bring much needed services to our area, since the forum the department hosted in 2015 for the Carroll County Coalition for Public Health on the Sandwich Fairgrounds. In that year’s time we have more counselors, recovery coaches have been established and are growing in numbers, the county Department of Corrections has implemented some innovative drug and alcohol programs at the jail along with a re-integration program for inmates, and some sober living houses emerged in our area, we are headed in the right direction.  So, the questions you may have are; what is our police department doing in this effort and has it had an effect on Sandwich?

In January I hosted a public meeting of the Carroll County Chiefs of Police at Town Hall. The purpose of the meeting was talk about the heroin epidemic in our County, and we were honored to have Gov. Chris Christie at that meeting and speak to us about many of the same issues that New Jersey was having with this crisis and the programs they have come up with in combating this crisis. This meeting was a result of a round table discussion Gov. Christie had with the Executive Board of the New England Chiefs of Police Association, on which I serve at our quarterly meeting that was held in the beginning of January. 

In March the Sandwich Police Department was the second department in Carroll County to join the Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative, (PAARI) this program was founded in Gloucester, MA in which police departments assist people in obtaining recovery services. We have assisted 3 people in getting help in 2016. PAARI also served as the foundation of the Carroll County Association of Chiefs of Police Community Policing Initiative, which is a pledge for departments to join together, share information and resources to help combat this epidemic in our county. 

 In April the department sponsored in partnership with the Samuel Wentworth Library and the Carroll County Coalition for Public Health a Naloxone, (NARCAN) Distribution Event. Residents came to the library and were trained in the use of NARCAN and then were given a free kit to take with them, eight kits were given out. Additionally, during the year officers worked on obtaining training and obtaining their State licenses to carry and utilize NARCAN. The licensing has been completed and the police department will be carrying NARCAN in 2017. As a member of the Executive Board for the Public Health Advisory Council for Carroll County, I continue to push for more substance abuse and mental health services for our area, as they are very much needed. 

During the past year your police, fire and emergency medical services responded to seven (7) overdoses, of which three (3) were heroin, two (2) were synthetic drugs with a mixture of others on board, one (1) was prescription medication, and one (1) was an undetermined/ unknown drug. We had four (4) drug related arrests. We had one to ten doses of NARCAN administered to the patients[1]. We had three people come into the department looking for addiction services, two people turn in drugs (Legal – take back) and one incident of a found hypodermic syringe. At Sandwich Central School the department still offers D.A.R.E to the sixth grade class. The D.A.R.E curriculum taught is the revised evidence based decision making model entitled “Keeping it Real.” 

Crime Trends:

In 2016 while the department saw the amount of overall call decrease in calls for service, we saw some very disturbing increases. Crimes Against Persons had a 400% increase over last year (17-3), with a 200% increase in assaults (9-3). Officers responded to more domestic disputes and made more domestic violence related arrests than in 2015 (6-1), and handled more investigations regarding the violation of protective orders. As a result the department logged well over 100 hours in prosecution time. As a consequence of the rise in the domestic related numbers the department also saw an increase in Child Services related calls (11-8), the department worked very well with our partners at DCYF to help, assist and protect these at-risk children. The Department saw a slight decrease in overall Property Crime. Burglary had a 0% increase, Theft remained relatively the same. The Department also experienced an increase in motor vehicle crashes with one crash resulting in a fatality. 

Professional Standards:

The department also conducted a review and revision of all of policy and procedures over the past year. Your officers in order to maintain their certifications to practice Law Enforcement in the State of NH attended the following classes and seminars:

  • Harassment in the Workplace: Primex
  • Adult Sexual Assault Investigations: NH Department of Justice
  • Emergency Operations Table Top Exercise: NH Department of Homeland Security
  • Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, Instructor: University of Texas
  • Firearms Instructor Re-certification: NH Police Standards and Training
  • NARCAN Administration: Stewarts Ambulance and NH Bureau of EMS
  • NH Right to Know Law: NH Municipal Association
  • 21st Century Policing and Challenges to Leadership: Daigle Law Group
  • Use of Force Reporting and Investigation: Daigle Law Group
  • Arrest/ Detention of Foreign Nationals: US Department of State and UK General Consul
  • Law Enforcement and the Transgender Community: US Department of Justice
  • Fair and Impartial Policing: Monitoring Bias: Primex and Vermont State Police 

Community Outreach:

The police department continues to administer several community programs in town. The DARE Program is taught at the Central School to the sixth grade class and Sergeant Varney and I are in the school for other events and functions. Project FLAG is still taught to the sixth grade class at the beginning of every school year. This class teaches the students how to care for and display the US Flag and they also learn some history about it. Project Good Morning is for our elderly folk in town who do not have regular daily contact and is run in partnership with Town Hall, and the House Watch Program. The Sandwich Toy Drive is probably our biggest program. This year we had many partners and benefactors, who helped us bring joy to 26 children and 11 families in Sandwich. We also assisted other communities with the hiring of a Chief and an officer. I was a member of an oral board for the Jackson Police Chief and Sergeant Varney was a member of an oral board for a patrol officer’s position in Bartlett. 

I continue to serve on the Executive Board of Directors for the New England Association of Chiefs of Police, the Executive Board of the Public Health Advisory Council for Carroll County, and the board of Officers for the Carroll County Association of Chiefs of Police. Sgt. Varney continues to instruct area officers in firearms and the use of force. 

Projects:

The department continues its cooperative agreement with the US Forest Service to patrol Sandwich Notch. The police department was awarded a $5,000.00 highway safety grant to conduct traffic enforcement in town.

The police department was also able to upgrade the in-car camera systems to the Watchguard 4RE High Definition DVR system from the older Watchguard DV1 Low Definition DVD system. The police department was also able to include two Watchguard Vista body cameras that are able to integrate with the in-car system. This upgrade and addition was made possible from a donation made by the Quimby Trust. I would like to thank the Quimby Trust for their generous gift and support of the police department. 

In closing I would like to thank the members of the police department. These fine people are truly dedicated, motivated and work very hard to provide you with the best service possible. Thank you lady and gentlemen for your hard work! I would also like to thank the other departments who make up team Sandwich, who we work closely with to provide you with the best municipal services possible. Thank you to: Sandwich Fire Department, Selectmen’s Office, Town Clerk’s Office, Sandwich Recreation Department, Samuel Wentworth Library and the Highway Department. I would also like to thank our other Law Enforcement partners who help, aid and assist us on a routine basis: Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, NH State Police, Moultonborough Police, NH Fish and Game, and U.S. Forest Service. Finally, thank you to all of you and your continued support of your police department. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Douglas F. Wyman, Jr.

Chief of Police 

2016 Police Department Activity

CRIMINAL OFFENSES REPORTED 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Physical Assault 9 3 4 3 4
Sexual Assault 1 0 2 0 0
Intimidation (Threats/ Stalking) 5 0 1 1 2
Burglary 7 7 11 5 23
Theft (All Larceny) 20 21 29 24 38
Fraud 46 24 18 9 8
Issuing Bad Checks 0 1 0 0 4
Criminal Mischief 11 14 39 13 23
Trespassing 10 16 10 11 17
Harassment and Phone Harassment 1 1 2 8 6
Illegal Dumping 10 4 5 7 8
Recovered Stolen Property 1 3 12 4 11
CALLS FOR SERVICE SAMPLING          
Domestics and Restraining Orders 16 12 13 10 9
Child Services: Delinq, CHINS, Neglect 11 8 6 15 17
MV Complaints/ Erratic Operation 42 43 42 48 43
VIN Verifications 35 40 23 32 23
Mental Health: Suicide/ Attempted Suicide 2 3 4 0 4
Overdoses 7 3 0 0 0
Unattended Death Investigations 2 3 3 2 1
Call-Outs 31 19 30 41 34
Suspicious Activity 33 45 51 48 64
Assists to Motorists and Citizens 94 157 150 125 131
General Service Calls 542 635 670 653 691
Dogs - (Loose, Viscious, Nuissance, in Veh.) 61 50 42 50 60
Wildlife Involved Calls, (Bears, etc.) 18 10 32 13 23
Assist to Fire-Rescue 70 43 63 61 64
Alarms 33 54 45 59 44
TOTAL OFFENSES/ CALLS FOR SERVICE 2268 2942 3226 3189 3501
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS          
Total Police Reports 39 39 33 45 45
Persons Injured 10 9 3 12 6
Persons Killed 1 0 0 0 0
MOTOR VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT          
MV Warnings/ Summons 175 254 130 306 129
Parking Tickets 92 66 66 83 79
ARREST OFFENSES CHARGED FOR 2016          
Electrical Code Violation 1 Protective Custody - Mental Health   1
Bench Warrant 1 Yellow Line Violation 1
Domestic Violence 12 Hour BOLO 1 Violation of Protective Order 1
Habitual Offender 1 Resisting Arrest/ Detention   2
Indecent Exposure 1 Criminal Threatening   2
Disorderly Conduct 1 Shop Lifting/ Willful Concealment 3
Reckless Operation 1 Possesion of Drugs/ Narcotics 4
Stop Sign Violation 1 Simple Assault   6
Speed 1 Unlawful Possession of Alcohol 7
  2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
TOTAL  ARRESTS 26 20 22 16 27

 

© 2021 Sandwich, NH Physical: 8 Maple St, Center Sandwich, NH 03227
Mailing: PO Box 194, Center Sandwich, NH 03227
Phone:  603-284-7701

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