Windham Sheriff offers patrol alternatives to Londonderry

By Mallory Hopkins
and Shawn Cunningham
©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC

While the average Londonderry Select Board meeting draws about five members of the public, the Monday June 15 meeting saw four times that for a discussion of police coverage for a town shaken by arsons and burglaries in recent months.

Windham Sheriff Keith Clark addresses the Londonderry Select Board. Photo by Mallory Hopkins.

While the town of 1,769 full-time residents has a constable, that position has not carried any law enforcement powers since 2010 leaving that part of the public safety equation to Troop D of the Vermont State Police in the Rockingham Barracks. Since that unit also serves Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish, Weston, Athens, Grafton, Rockingham, Westminster, Windham, Peru and Landgrove as well as patrolling 36 miles of I-91, response times of topping 45 minutes seem to be the norm, said several in attendance.

Into this situation walked Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark to tell the public what his department could do for Londonderry and what it would cost.

Clark told the group that Londonderry was at a crossroads: too small to start a police force and too big to depend on the Vermont State Police. “Londonderry is like a lot of communities in Vermont,” said Clark. The sheriff noted that if the impetus for contracting for services is one set of incidents and not a desire for overall policing, then the town is not ready, because as soon as the problem goes away the town will start wondering why it needs police.

The Londonderry Select Board listens to Clark’s presentation. Photo by Mallory Hopkins.

Repeatedly using Vernon (home of the old Vermont Yankee plant near Brattleboro) as his example, Clark noted that that town has full-time, 24/7 coverage from his department. Clark said, “It’s like having a local police department where you don’t have to pay for a chief.”  He added that the contract costs Vernon $242,000 per year. Factor in the travel distance and other factors, and a full-time contract for Londonderry would run $250,000 to $270,000, he told the Select Board and the audience.

Select Board member Steve Prouty asked if the deputies could improve on the 45-minute response time of the state police.  Clark told him that that depends. If the town opts for round-the-clock coverage, he said, there would  be a deputy in town to respond. Less coverage would mean longer response if the deputy was not specifically assigned to Londonderry during a call. If his deputies were just responding to calls from wherever they are in the county, however, the time could be as long as that of the state police.  Clark has 16 full-time and 25 part-time deputies for a county of 798 square miles.

Board member Paul Gordon asked Clark if he had any recommendations regarding a Neighborhood Watch group. Clark answered saying that these groups usually only last a few months, then lose motivation and fade away. “Just putting up signs is not effective,” Clark said.

Clark offers some simple advice on helping to stop burglaries. Photo by Shawn Cunningham.

By the same token, Clark said the public can help to prevent crime. “Does it make a difference to lock your doors? Yes it does. Lock your doors.”  A house that is locked is less of a target for a burglar who would have to break in, immediately alerting residents on their return home. If a burglar does not have to do damage to enter a house, the resident will not suspect a burglary until something is noticed to be missing.

The public and board members alike were concerned about how the additional expense would affect taxes. According to Town Administrator Kevin Beattie, a $250,000 contract would mean a 6.5 cent increase  in the tax rate. That would mean another $130 on a property assessed at $200,000.

Clark also said that because of the need to “staff up” for such a contract, he would not take on the work for less than one year and cautioned the town that while the contract is year to year, there needs to be a commitment on the part of the town to go forward.

Clark also told the board that it would take his department three to four months to gear up for the contract, which includes finding which deputies are the “right fit” for the community.

“We are going to need some kind of police patrol coverage,” Bob Cowles said, asking the board  to “look at it very seriously – more seriously than the 18 years I was on the board.” Cowles also asked that the question be put to a town-wide vote rather than a unilateral vote of the Select Board. Sheriff Clark noted that  by statute, hiring and paying his department for policing has to be done through a town meeting.

Eventually the conversation returned to the big-picture issue that is affecting the entire state — drugs. A resident said, “Policing is only a small solution to our drug problem.” Clark agreed, “It’s not just a drug problem, Vermont has changed.”

Board chair Jim Ameden assured the audience that the board has been looking into the alternatives – although there aren’t very many – and that the final decision would be made by a town vote.

Weston Select Board members Annie Fuji, pictured, and Jim Linville attended the meeting. Both are interesting in pursuing cooperation between the two governments. Photo by Shawn Cunningham.

Annie Fuji and Jim Linville, two Weston Select Board members attending the Londonderry meeting, asked several questions about the sheriff’s service and told the Londonderry board that they would be interested in discussing cooperation between the two towns on public safety.

In interviews with The Telegraph on Tuesday, Linville and Fuji both said that they were doing the research that select board members ought to do. “We need to take a hard look at what we are doing about”  policing, said Linville,“and ask ourselves if what we are doing is sufficient or do we need to do more?”

“This is very much on our radar,” said Fuji. “And while the Londonderry Select Board is pursuing options, the Weston board has continued to become informed and let residents know that we are following up.”

A June 1 break-in at the Vermont Country Store has been a concern for many in Weston, according to Fuji, but she noted that after the Londonderry meeting she was approached by a Weston resident who thought that the apprehension of two suspects in a June 1 burglary of the New American Grill ended the situation.

Linville said he thought this topic would continue to be a concern that the board would investigate and discuss so it can present alternatives to the public.