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2003 Report of the Police Department
The year 2003 once again encouraged the police department to improvise continually to maintain priority services to the residents and the businesses of North Hampton, and also to provide the services needed for citizens who have been victims of crimes or any other type of incident in town. Throughout 2003 the seriousness of the crimes committed continued to escalate requiring more time for initial investigation and follow-up investigation by the officers involved. At the same time the department continued to receive countless calls from residents pleading with us to give more patrol to their streets to curb the serious problem of speeding vehicles and reckless drivers. Because of the incredible support of the Board of Selectmen, the Budget Committee and the residents of North Hampton the police department is now back up to
our approved staffing for the first time since 1991. The department also hired John Scippa to fill the Lieutenant's position on the department after this position had been left vacant for three years. With these changes the department was put in a much better position to investigate and solve serious crimes, and become much more assertive in the enforcement of traffic laws. This assertive approach has enabled the department to discover such crimes as Residential Burglary in progress, Transportation and Trafficking of Drugs, and Thefts from businesses at night. This approach also caused a significant increase in several categories of our yearly statistics. Examples of these increases are; total calls for service 8505 (+14%), total motor vehicle stops 2160 (+21%), total motor vehicle collisions 225 (+16%), total arrests 236 (+13%), and investigative case follow-ups 1164 (+67%). Below is a break down of some specific calls for service in
2003:
Overall, with the support of the town and our residents the police department has been successful in reducing such crimes as burglary (-70%), motor vehicle theft (-35%). We continue to enjoy our interaction with the children of the community by bringing Santa Claus to North Hampton, assisting with the Egg Scramble, teaching the DARE classes, and attending and controlling traffic at the annual school picnic prior to the beginning of the school year in August.
I would like to thank all members of the North Hampton Police Department for their dedicated service to the Town of North Hampton. Their teamwork work made it possible for the department to continue providing a high quality service while struggling with a considerable increase in Calls for Service. Congratulations for a job well done! Finally I would like to thank the citizens of North Hampton for their never-ending support, which enables the police department to continue providing this high quality service.
Chief of Police
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