ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SANDWICH POLICE DEPARTMENT
It was another active year for your Police Department. I would like to thank the residents for their continued support of their police department. Police work is a hard job, one that challenges you and challenges your commitment, even in a small town. Having completed my 25th year as a Police Officer and coming from a Police family, (My father and brother are both police officers) I was disheartened to see a lot of social strife as we ended 2014 and a nationwide trend of persons protesting the police service. I am thankful, however, that I can serve in this noble profession in a town where the citizens support their officers. Without getting into the politics of the issues at hand or opining about it, let me simply say that I as your Police Chief and your officers work very diligently every day trying to provide our Town with the best police service possible, and that our job is more than enforcement, we recognize that we are the caretakers of our community and to that end we try to fulfill our obligation to you everyday and the vision and values set forth in our mission statement;
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide the highest degree of law enforcement service to the members and visitors of our community, in a manner consistent with the rights and dignity provided for by law under the Constitution of the United States and the State of New Hampshire.
VISION STATEMENT
To provide 21st century law enforcement service, while maintaining a small town approach that is reasonable, courteous, and open-minded to all.
CORE VALUES
To be able to provide the highest degree of law enforcement service to the residents and visitors of Sandwich, our officers must be like minded in our department’s mission of protecting the rights, serving the needs, maintaining order, and earning the trust of the population we serve. To that end we the officers of the Sandwich Police Department adopt the following principles as our core values:
1. That we are Professional
2. That we are civic minded and we care about our community.
3. That we are fair and that we treat people with respect.
4. That we are inclusive in our problem solving, initiatives and programs.
5. That we are responsible, ethical, honest and trustworthy.
Over the summer the department saw some trends that we hope does not continue; the amount of dogs that are left in vehicles and the amount of trash/ litter at Town Beaches. Plainly, stated dogs are not allowed at the Town Beaches; that means the parking lots. Additionally, if it is too hot for you to sit in the car, it’s too hot for your dog. The temperature inside a vehicle rises very quickly – even if the windows are cracked – even if a window is left open. In 2015, let’s remember to keep our four legged family members at home if we are headed to the beach. The town has always maintained a pack in pack out policy for trash at our recreation areas. It is not acceptable to find bags of trash stacked against or in the porta-potty or left on or under a picnic table. Let’s remember to keep our recreation areas clean.
Crime Trends:
Crimes Against Persons:
The department investigated two allegations of sexual abuse and assisted the State Police in the investigation of a sexual assault. The department saw a slight decrease in the number of assaults and domestic disputes. The Department made two arrests for the Violation of a Restraining Orders. Overall there was a 0% increase in crimes against persons.
Crimes Against Property:
The department saw an increase in burglaries over the previous year, however, this increase was still lower than 2012. The amount of theft reports remained about the same as the previous year. In the fall the department led a multi-agency theft investigation, with the Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro Police Departments that resulted in arresting the individual responsible at the conclusion of the investigation thirteen charges in three towns were filed in District Court. The department was also able to solve a high profile burglary case that occurred during the Sandwich Fair that involved the theft of eighteen thousand dollars in jewelry. The department saw significant increases in the amount of vandalism and frauds reported. The department worked very closely over the year with the U.S. Forest Service on a destruction of resources case and several vandalism cases in Sandwich Notch. The destruction of resources case was brought to U.S. District Court and the individuals responsible were convicted in U.S. District Court. Overall there was a 63% increase over the previous year in Property Crime. While this seems like a large percentage, it was mainly due to the increase in vandalism and fraud reports.
The department saw a 0% increase in drug related offenses and a 1% increase in all other offenses.
Training: Over the past year in order to maintain our professional certifications and to serve you better officers participated in the following Continuing Education Courses and Conferences: Legal Update, Firearms Instructor Re-Certification, Domestic Violence Law Update, NH Traffic Safety Conference, Eye Witness Identification, Police Encounters with Developmentally Disabled Persons, Criminal Investigation, PSTC Council Rules on Firearms and HR218, Clinical Psychology of Children and Young People, Terrorism/ Counter-Terrorism Practice and Theory, and Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases.
Programs and Projects:
The department continued our Cooperative Agreement with US Forest Service to patrol the Sandwich Notch. We have two newly assigned Rangers to our District: Scott Howlett and Diron Tompkins and it has been a pleasure working with them over the past year. The Department did not receive a Highway Safety Grant, however, we plan to try again in 2015. We continue to deliver our community based programs with our partners: Ice Cream Ticket program, DARE, Flag Care, Bicycle Safety, Project Good Morning, Driver Education, Sandwich Toy Drive, House Watch Program and Volunteers in Police Service Program.
Please remember to visit your police department on the web! The Police Department’s page on the Town’s website has a lot of useful information, downloadable forms and the ability for you request a house check via e-mail. Additionally, follow your police department on Facebook, our page has lots of useful information and several photo albums that illustrate your department, your town and what it is like to live in Sandwich!
In closing I would like to thank the members of the department, they are a truly dedicated and motivated group of individuals, also a big thank you to our Volunteers who do an incredible job assisting the Police Department with House Watch Program. I would also like to thank the remainder of Team Sandwich, who we work with very closely to provide you with the best municipal services possible. Thank you to: Selectmen’s Office, Town Clerk’s Office, Fire Department, Highway Department, Park & Rec., Library and the Transfer Station for all of their assistance. Thank you to our other partners: Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, NH State Police, U.S. Forest Service and the Moultonborough Police Department for the assistance they have provided us over the past year. Finally, thank you to all of you and your continued support of your Police Department.
Respectfully submitted,
Douglas F. Wyman, Jr.
Chief of Police
CRIMINAL OFFENSES | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
Physical Assault | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Sexual Assault | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Intimidation (Threats/ Stalking) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Burglary | 11 | 5 | 23 | 14 | 13 |
Theft (All Larceny) | 29 | 24 | 38 | 29 | 47 |
Fraud | 18 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 4 |
Issuing Bad Checks | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Criminal Mischief | 39 | 13 | 23 | 11 | 17 |
Trespassing | 10 | 11 | 17 | 9 | 5 |
Harassment and Phone Harassment | 2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Illegal Dumping | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
Recovered Stolen Property | 12 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 9 |
CALLS FOR SERVICE | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
Domestics and Restraining Orders | 13 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
Juvenile Cases (Delinq, CHINS, Neglect) | 6 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 9 |
MV Complaints/ Erratic Operation | 42 | 48 | 43 | 49 | 49 |
VIN Verifications | 23 | 32 | 23 | 32 | 29 |
Suicide and Attempted and Mental Health | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Untimely Death Investigations | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Call-Outs | 30 | 41 | 34 | 33 | 23 |
Suspicious Activity | 51 | 48 | 64 | 70 | 48 |
Assists to Motorists and Citizens | 150 | 125 | 131 | 242 | 228 |
Miscellaneous Calls For Service | 670 | 653 | 691 | 643 | 662 |
Dogs - (Loose, Viscious, Nuissance, in Veh.) | 42 | 50 | 60 | 75 | 75 |
Wildlife Involved Calls, (Bears, etc.) | 32 | 13 | 23 | 27 | 35 |
Assist to Fire-Rescue | 63 | 61 | 64 | 56 | 56 |
Alarms | 45 | 59 | 44 | 39 | 44 |
911 Hang-Ups | 14 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 15 |
Parking Complaints | 20 | 28 | 17 | 31 | 20 |
Community Policing Activities | 68 | 39 | 40 | 64 | 76 |
TOTAL OFFENSES | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
BY YEAR | 3226 | 3189 | 3501 | 3461 | 3190 |
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
Total Police Reports | 33 | 45 | 45 | 43 | 27 |
MOTOR VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
MV Warnings/ Summons | 130 | 306 | 129 | 305 | 264 |
Parking Tickets | 66 | 83 | 79 | 82 | 101 |
YEAR | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
TOTAL ARRESTS | 22 | 16 | 27 | 32 | 27 |
OFFENSES CHARGED AT ARREST IN 2014
Theft By Unauthorized Taking | 9 | Driving After Suspension | 3 |
Bench Warrant | 6 | Operating W/out Valid License | 1 |
Receiving Stolen Property | 3 | Operating w/ Suspended Registration | 1 |
Simple Assault | 3 | Attempted Burglary | 1 |
Attempted Assault on Police Officer | 1 | Burglary | 1 |
Assault on Police Officer | 2 | Criminal Mischief | 1 |
Resisting Arrest and Disobey Police Officer | 3 | Disordely Conduct | 1 |
Possession of Controlled Drug | 1 | Violation of Protection Order | 2 |
Unlawful Possession of Alcohol | 1 | Protective Custody - Alcohol | 4 |
Prohibited Sale (Alcohol) | 1 | Protective Custody - Drugs | 1 |
Criminal Trespass | 1 | Proetctive Custody - Mental Health | 1 |