The Bow Police Department is preparing to take the next step in an evolution that has seen it, under Chief Jeff Jaran, turn from a small town department into a regional leader in technology and staffing.

At their meeting on Tuesday, March 20, Bow selectmen unanimously approved a proposal allowing Bow police to join the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit (SOU).

Cmdr. Robert Cormier, of the Plymouth Police Department, who leads the unit, presented the board with an extensive PowerPoint presentation, detailing the responsibility of member departments and the benefits of joining.

As part of the Central New Hampshire SOU, Bow will now have access to a command post vehicle, an armored vehicle, four physicians, four crisis negotiators, two paramedics, two tactical commanders, two detectives, two information technology specialists, two radio programmers, two police photographers and a K-9.

And Cormier said the list of resources is ever expanding.

Some areas regional teams currently deal heavily with include barricaded subjects, hostage rescue, heavily armed subjects, search and rescue, wanted or missing persons, dignitary protection, crowd control, and any other incident that may require a significant increase in manpower, or which is beyond the normal capabilities of patrol.

“I think it’s a great resource for us, and it makes a lot of sense,” said Selectman Jack Crisp.

The cost of membership is $2,500 and Jaran said he will pay the first year out of his department’s operating budget.

The cost, said Cormier, covers all operational expenses, including vehicles, insurance, pagers, equipment and training.

Furthermore, regional task forces are eligible for grant money to buy robotics, shielding and other equipment for which small towns alone are not eligible.

The idea of the special operations unit, like most mutual aid agreements between fire departments, is to join the limited resources of individual towns and create a significant force by combining manpower, equipment and resources.

“Fire departments have been taking care of each other for years and doing real well,” said Cormier. “Police departments kind of dropped the ball in that area, and we need to improve on helping each other.”

Cormier explained that regional special operations forces first arose in the United States in the late 1960s in response to increases in violent crimes against large numbers of people and further developed in the 1980s because of an increase in drug-related violent crimes and barricaded subjects.

More recently, he said, small towns that most people have never heard of began to see major violent crimes, such as the Columbine High School incident in Littleton, Colo., raising a need for specialized forces to handle such situations.

“Regional teams provide the most cost effective solution to problems that would require a fast response to critical incidents,” said Cormier. “They make for safer communities.”

There are currently more than 70 regional SOU teams in the United States, including 220 involved communities in New England and 70 in New Hampshire.

The Central New Hampshire SOU is the largest in the Granite State, with 35 current towns and cities.

Ten agencies, not including Bow, have joined in the last two months – most from Merrimack County.

“It really is the future of law enforcement in New Hampshire, so these teams have really stepped up in being available to provide this to communities,” said Cormier.

The SOU is currently governed by an executive board made up of six police chiefs or commanders who are elected biannually.

Because so many towns are joining the SOU, including Hopkinton and others from Merrimack County, Cormier said he would ideally like to break the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit into a north and a south team under one umbrella.

Jaran said he is interested in being on the executive council for the south team should the SOU break in two.

He added that Concord is having trouble funding its team and may soon join the regional SOU, which would add 16 trained officers to the team.

“Concord used to attract all the money for its S.W.A.T. team, but now regional teams are getting all the grants,” he said.

When a situation presents itself, Cormier said the town’s chief is still in charge, but will look to SOU commanders for expertise and guidance.

In addition to the obvious benefits to the involved towns, the officers who volunteer their services often show an immediate increase in morale, said Cormier.

Departments are also able to recruit and retain more certified officers because they don’t get bored with the sometimes tedious grind of daily police work.

When selecting personnel from each department, Cormier said he looks for easygoing officers that are going to maintain their composure.

Jaran said two such officers have already volunteered to provide their services and he will look for two dispatchers to join as well.

Under the agreement, the officers continue to be paid by their own department, but are insured through the SOU, while serving in other towns.