NH police budget and employment data (Merrimack County) (Epsom Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Hampshire Right to Know Law, I respectfully request the following records related to this municipality's police department hiring, employment, and funding for the budget years 2000 through 2020:

BUDGET and FUNDING DATA - Records sufficient to show funding for municipal law enforcement offices and activities for the years 2000 through 2020.

If possible, please provide the itemized budget allocated for public safety and police department activities for each year, as well as records sufficient to show any additional funding received through other means, including but not limited to:
• funds for capital expenditures
• grants
• donations

HIRING and EMPLOYMENT DATA - Records sufficient to show the following data regarding police department employment for the years 2000 through 2020.
• The number of employed law enforcement officers (as defined by RSA 105-D:1). Please provide the date on which the provided numbers were accurate.
• Annual demographic information (age, race, gender) of law enforcement officers employed by this municipality
• Annual demographic information (age, race, gender) of any individual employed in a position of leadership within this municipality’s public safety or law enforcement department

If any of the requested information is available in aggregate form, provision of this aggregate information by year would likely satisfy this request. If there are any known caveats involved with the data and information your office is able to provide, I would really appreciate it if you could share them with me.

*Please note* that if any of the requested information is held by another office or agency, direction to the appropriate office would be greatly appreciated.

This request is being made on behalf of the Concord Monitor through the statewide nonprofit Granite State News Collaborative. This request is not being made for commercial purposes. It is being made as part of a journalistic data collection effort to benefit news organizations and the public good throughout the State of New Hampshire.

If your office anticipates that fees associated with the processing of this request, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request be filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Please call 603-224-5301 with any questions about this request. If your call is not answered, please leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within five business days, as required by law.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I really appreciate your time and help.

Sincerely,

Cassidy Jensen, The Concord Monitor

Hi Ms. Sullivan,

Thanks again for your help in fulfilling this request. Are there any electronic copies of town reports prior to 2018 that we could access? If there are electronic versions available at the town office, I could schedule a time to come in person with a thumb drive.

I also wanted to ask whether there were any other records that might contain even limited demographic data. Other small departments have been able to provide more recent age and gender information for officers. Does the police department maintain that information?

Thanks again. I appreciate it.

Best,
Cassidy

Hi Deb,

Thanks so much for your help with this request.

Would you be able to share the annual reports from just 2010 and 2011 electronically with me, or would that be too big a file to email? From the town reports, I'm looking for total expenditures and budgets (which is why I'm interested in the 2011 report, which would have total spending in 2010), as well as the total number of officers and number of supervisors in 2010 (as well as in 2000 and in 2020).

We are also seeking information on officers and supervisors' race, gender and age when it comes to demographics, but I'll take whatever information you keep and are able to provide. I appreciate all your help.

Thanks,
Cassidy