MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Tuesday night, Manchester Police Department Chief Allen Aldenberg provided the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen an overview of the state of policing in the city in 2021.
Aldenberg told the board that last year the Manchester Police Department had three main goals.
The first was maintaining officer mental health and wellness, which was served through the creation of a dedicated mental health and wellness officer as well as a new comfort dog that joined the force.
Aldenberg also put an emphasis on reducing violent crime and improving recruitment efforts. As of Tuesday, the Manchester Police Department is short of what would be a full complement by approximately 20 officers, although 10 to 14 officers are expected to be officially hired upon completion of training on May 2.
The lack of officers has forced Aldenberg to shift two officers from the Traffic Division to the Patrol Division in order to combat violent crime in the city. Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart expressed concern at this given his constituents’ complaints regarding speeding. Aldenberg said that nine of the new officers coming on board in May are expected to join the Patrol Division, allowing at least one of the temporary Patrol Division officers to move back to traffic detail.
In 2021, there were 235 applicants to become Manchester Police Officers, with 35 hired and 29 still with the agency as of Tuesday. A total of 22 officers left the force in 2021, a figure that Aldenberg said was fairly high compared to most years in Manchester. When asked why so many officers were leaving, he told the board that some were retiring or deciding to retire early due to financial issues, some were resignations, and others found new positions in other law enforcement agencies, including police departments in smaller towns.
Aldenberg said that transitioning to smaller towns was also a new development compared to previous years, although he noted that many nearby towns will offer officers the same rate of pay for far less hazardous conditions.
The 235 applicants were also far fewer than in the past, with Aldenberg saying that transitioning the testing process for new officers into an online format has helped. However, many potential candidates have indirectly indicated to him that the national narrative around law enforcement has impacted recruitment, something he believes may also be related to the spate of officer departures recently.
Regarding violent crime, Aldenberg said that 89 firearms were taken off the streets in 2021 through the efforts of the department’s Anti-Crime Unit, emphasizing an effort to become more proactive in addressing the issue of violence in the city.
Aldenberg said that in most statistical categories, crime went up in comparison to 2020 due to the gradual fading of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been trending downward over the past 10 years.
One exception included a specific category of assaults, where state definitions regarding strangulation do not directly correspond with FBI categorization recommendations, leading to the Manchester Police Department choosing to use the broader state definition for classification purposes out of caution.
Another exception came in terms of gun-related crimes where the ten-year trend went downward overall, but has been going up in terms of gun-related crimes where a firearm was discharged.
Aldenberg told the board that his departmental goals in 2022 will remain the same in addition to increased community engagement.
The full report can be found below:
