Hanover Police will not respond to calls unless directly asked for assistance when intoxicated students are transferred from Dick’s House to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center via ambulance and is eliminating its in-house diversions program, as of Jan. 1. Prior to this change in procedure, spearheaded by Hanover Police Chief Charlie Dennis, Hanover Police responded to all calls and arrested the transported students.
Police will now only respond when Dick’s House requests police assistance.
In the past, students arrested for intoxication were given the option of appearing in court or going through an alcohol and drug education program facilitated by the Hanover Police. Valley Court Diversion Program, a non-profit based out of White River Junction servicing lower Grafton and Windsor counties, is now facilitating these sessions instead.
These changes come after Dennis, who took over as chief last June, began analyzing existing police procedures and consulting with various resources including the Office of Undergraduate Judicial Affairs, Safety and Security and Dick’s House to better understand existing disciplinary structure against alcohol incidents, he said. He chose to look into this due to perceived negative opinions surrounding Hanover Police’s involvement.
Upon determining that Dick’s House is ultimately a medical facility, he decided that the police should not be involved.
“I felt it was in the best interest of the community not to respond to those calls.”
Safety and Security was not involved in the decision-making process, but provided information through discussions with Dennis, director of Safety and Security Harry Kinne said.
Dennis said he made the decision to eliminate the Hanover Police diversion program because of perceptions that it was being used solely to generate revenue for the town and complaints about high fees, though he said the majority of the cost went toward paying the licensed substance abuse counselor who taught the sessions.
The program generated between $10,000 and $15,000 for the town per year, Hanover town manager Julie Griffin told The Valley News.
The Hanover Police diversions program began in 1988 when there were no other programs of the sort in the area, Dennis said.
The cost of participating in the VCDP for substance related charges is $275 for all 18-to-21 year olds, VCDP program coordinator for Lower Grafton County Lyndsay Porreca said. The cost of the program though Hanover Police was $400.
“I think Chief Dennis was very thoughtful and took his time to investigate what it meant for all the players involved,” Porreca said. “I love working with college-aged kids so I’m excited about it.”
Porreca said Dennis had several conversations with the VCDP about shifting services to the program.
“He realized that other 18- to 21-year-olds were being sent to our program, and they are all in the same county, so it made sense to him that they were all being treated the same,” she said.
Kinne said he hopes the new policy related to transfer calls will encourage students to utilize the Good Samaritan policy for their friends.
“We really just want people to call,” he said. “That’s the safest thing to do, and it really is the safest thing for other community members.”
Dennis echoed these concerns regarding student safety.
“The number one priority is to get someone help and help prevent an alcohol-related death,” he said. “My hope is that it makes a difference.”
