BY SUSAN WARE
A typical week for the police in Candia includes a stolen F-350 pick-up truck crashing into a telephone pole and snapping it in half, leaving the transformer in the middle of the road; copper pipes stolen from vacant homes; a domestic assault arrest or two, several motor vehicle stops on Route 101 and new evidence in a 10-year-old felonious sexual assault case that needs investigating.
“Our numbers are way up over this time last year. At times it has been tough on my guys. We have a lot going on,” said Candia Police Chief Michael McGillen.
In 2006, from January through July, Candia police responded to 1,529 offenses.
In 2007, from January through July, they have responded to 1,727 offenses. An offense can be anything such as a suspicious vehicle, an open door to an assault, burglary or worse.
The rise in crime is tough on this small, six-officer department, which is already down one full-time officer, because in Candia, officers do it all. There are no detectives or other specialty departments, so when an officer responds to a call, they own it until the end.
Last year, McGillen lost a full-time officer who wanted a city assignment, and the town Budget Committee cut his payroll for two part-time officers, which provide crucial overlap during busy shifts, like Friday and Saturday nights.
He is currently searching for a full-time officer who wants to work in a rural setting and is going to ask the Budget Committee to reinstate funding for the two part-time officers. He also wants his budget for a new cruiser reinstated.
“New equipment is good for morale and enables us to do our job better. Replacing a cruiser every year is not a luxury, but a necessity,” said McGillen.
Seeming quiet on the surface, few days are spent patrolling Candia streets.
“The funny thing is that when some people see us doing our job by randomly patrolling neighborhoods, they think we have nothing to do,” said McGillen.
Candia has been prime for daytime break-ins and McGillen said that it is proven that the presence of cruisers deters would-be thieves.
McGillen is what he calls a working chief. He responds to calls and is often the first on the scene to back up his officers, especially when it is an underage party.
“Breaking up an underage party is chaos. Not only do you have to deal with all of the intoxicated minors, but later it is all the discontented parents. We can’t win,” said McGillen.
Responding to a call for an underage party strains resources and requires Candia to call in backup from neighboring towns.
When teenagers see police cruisers arrive, McGillen said that most panic and run, they jump off decks, out of second-story windows, all leaving their vehicles behind.
Candia police have a policy to tow all vehicles found at an underage party.
“We have to tow because later on the kids sneak back to their cars and if one of them gets behind the wheel and crashes, it will all come back on us,” said McGillen.
Another strain is domestic assault. On July 18 an officer responded to a domestic assault on Chester Road. The husband was accused of assaulting his wife and breaking items in the home, so the responding officer arrested him. The only officer on duty at the time, this took him off the street for two hours.
“Some people really don’t realize all that we do. Last year, residents did turn out in support of the department during the budget process. We are going to need that support again this year,” said McGillen.