Chief Marr gives public safety overview during Chamber’s Future Focus series at The Rex
In what was his first public appearance since being named as Manchester’s new police chief one night earlier, Manchester Police Department Chief Peter Marr provided details on the city’s police force in a presentation held by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce at the Rex Theatre on Wednesday morning
MANCHESTER, N.H. – In what was his first public appearance since being named as Manchester’s new police chief one night earlier, Manchester Police Department Chief Peter Marr provided details on the city’s police force in a presentation held by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce at the Rex Theatre on Wednesday morning.
Standing as the largest police force in New England north of Boston with over 200 sworn officers and over 50 civilian staff members, Manchester is currently on track for approximately 106,000 total calls for service this year, roughly split between reactive and proactive calls. As of Wednesday, the department has recorded 4,109 arrests so far this year and 12,517 incident reports. That includes 476 citations and 123 arrests relating to the modification of the city’s anti-park camping ordinance in July.
Marr told the assembled audience that violent crime, robbery and theft from within motor vehicles have all dropped drastically since 2022 and gun-related crimes have dropped from a spike in 2022 as well, although they have not yet fallen under 2021 figures. However, identity theft and shoplifting figures have risen in recent years, although these statistics may be in part to more accurate reporting that reflects true figures that went unacknowledged in earlier years.
In the department’s PowerEngage survey program, citizens reported somewhere between 85-90 percent positive reactions to police interactions on average, with most negative interactions coming from incidents where all parties may not find a clear resolution such as arguments or tenant disputes, or calls that may have lower priority compared to emergencies such as assistance for disabled vehicles.
According to Marr, Manchester’s Police Department is seen elsewhere in the country as one of the best in the U.S., with other department copying its standard operating procedures and emulating its groundbreaking programs such as the Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team.
Joined by Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais in a question and answer period later in the program, Marr said one of the biggest challenges for the department is recruiting and retaining new quality officers. He said that currently the patrol division has somewhere between 94 and 85 officers depending on injuries, but that division would ideally be at around 112 officers for a city the size of Manchester. It is his hope to eventually promote further cross-training with the community policing division and the patrol division to provide more roster flexibility and ultimately easier access to officer vacation planning.
He also noted that while training for becoming a police officer in Manchester is more strenuous than elsewhere in the state, often taking up to eight months more than average for non-certified officers, the department won’t hesitate to take an officer off the street if its believed that they cannot handle the job, regardless of how much has been invested in that officer resource-wise.
When asked how residents can best cooperate with the department to increase public safety, Marr encouraged frequent communication and taking advantage of public safety initiatives such as the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program and participation in the city’s Fusus network.
The presentation was the second in the Chamber’s Future Focus series, a discussion between local business leaders and leaders of the city’s governmental departments, following a discussion with the Planning and Community Development Department’s Jeffrey Belanger in October.
