2009 Annual Report

To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and
Citizens of the Town of Rochester

Annual Report 2009
Rochester Police Department

I am pleased to submit my annual report as Chief of Police. This report follows the completion of my seventh year as chief. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the Town Departments and employees for their continuing support of the Police Department during the past year. Without the strong support of the citizens of the community, our elected officials and other Town employees, especially Tracy Eldridge and those in the Communications Department, it would be difficult for us to successfully accomplish our mission. I also need to thank my Administrative Assistant, Suzanne Maksy, for her efforts to keep the administrative side of the department running smoothly. I would like to share some accomplishments from the past year.

In light of increasingly difficult financial times, we have continued our efforts to find grant opportunities for the department. This year many grants were eliminated due to state funding cuts. We were awarded the following:

The department saw an increase in arrests, up 5% over last year. Arrests for simple assaults and drug violations were down, while drunken driving arrests increased.

Property crimes continue to be a major portion of the department's workload. The total value of items stolen as a result of these crimes was $139,144.00 for 2009. This is a 30% increase from 2008. The department is still without a detective to follow up on many of these cases.

Motor vehicle accidents increased by 14%, the majority of the increase were in non-injury accidents. Traffic citation totals were 12% less than last year's total.

The department issued 50% less firearms permits than the previous year due largely in part to a law change extending the licensing period and spreading expiration dates.