2009 Year In Review

As reported in the Town Report

Henniker Police Department 2009

The year 2009 has been a year of transition for the Henniker Police Department.

Our long time Chief of Police, Timothy Russell retired in June and I was handed the reigns to succeed him as your Police Chief. He served in the capacity of Chief for 20 years. I take great pride in being only the third full time police chief the town has had since 1969.

Officer Jeffrey Summers was hired to fill the opening left by Chief Russell’s retirement. Jeff has been with us as a part time officer for seven years. He is currently attending the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training full time police academy and will graduate on April 9, 2010. We are all excited to have Jeff on board and feel he will continue to be an asset to the department and the community.

As in previous years, this year we received several grants through the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency for speed enforcement patrols, DWI enforcement patrols, and for the first time, a DWI Sobriety Checkpoint grant. These grants allow us to dedicate an officer to be on patrol and enforce motor vehicle laws at no cost to the taxpayer.

We continue to send officers to schools and trainings to provide the community with the best possible police officers. Two accomplishments this year are that Sgt. Matthew French was certified to teach the R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) class to women. This class offers self defense skills to women through classroom and practical application. We will be offering this class to female members of the community this year. Also Officer Stephen Dennis completed an intense Drug Recognition Expert training that certifies him as an expert in determining what drugs a person is under the influence of. This is a valuable resource to the department.

We have been working with New England College to improve our relationship with the staff and students. We have formed a committee that is run by the NEC student senate president and comprised of NEC staff, students, community members and myself. I have found these meetings to be beneficial. We also have Sgt. French available for two hours a week at the Simon Center to answer questions, concerns and offer any advice to students. It is my goal to encourage students to become invested in the town while they are here obtaining their education to strengthen the college, community and police relationship.

In closing, I would like to thank the residents of Henniker for the opportunity to be your Chief of Police. I am very fortunate to have an awesome staff, which is dedicated to the community and the department. Please feel free to contact us if we can assist you in any way.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ryan Murdough, Chief of Police