After serving for 10 years as Hanover Police Chief, Charlie Dennis retired in December to move closer to his family in Texas. The Dartmouth sat down with Dennis to discuss his tenure at the Hanover Police Department, which saw events ranging from the May 1 protest, when 89 individuals were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest on the Green, to the Department’s accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies — a recognition of voluntarily meeting a set of professional standards.
What attracted you to the Hanover Police Department?
CD: Definitely the community — both in Hanover and at Dartmouth. My wife always wanted to live in New England. Her family was from Maine and Nova Scotia, so that was the draw to the New England area. She had a lot of fond memories growing up and visiting. I couldn’t get her to Maine, but I got her pretty close by getting her to New Hampshire. The people of New England and a college like Dartmouth here that is part of that community — even though it’s a separate community — was a big draw coming in. My goal has always been to make a difference.
How did the relationship between Hanover and the College change over your 10 years as police chief?
CD: Before I came, there were some struggles between the Town and the College. A lot of it dealt with alcohol issues. In my first year here, former College President Phil Hanlon initiated his “Moving Dartmouth Forward” initiative, which banned hard alcohol. I was a big supporter of that. The collaborative relationships between the Town and the College improved over my tenure there. I think a lot of that is owed to my staff. We built a culture at the Hanover Police Department of taking the time to listen to people and understanding the perspectives of what people are dealing with.
As law enforcement, how do you balance respecting personal liberties and constitutional rights to protest with maintaining public safety?
CD: Hanover’s Police Department is small — we only have 21 sworn officers — but we always made it a priority to work closely with event organizers. We really focused on communication and building relationships with organizers, which helped us maintain the balance between respecting their constitutional rights and keeping things safe. After the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, for example, we had good working relationships with local protest organizers, and they would call us ahead of time to let us know their plans. That level of communication meant that we didn’t have to be heavily involved, but we’d have officers nearby to ensure everything stayed safe.
There were also times when we didn’t have that luxury of advanced notice. Sometimes, we’d get word of a protest just a few hours before it was set to happen. For small departments like ours, that didn’t leave much time to prepare. We used historical data, and we also kept an eye on what was happening nationally at the time. Our goal was always to balance respecting people’s First Amendment rights while making sure everything was lawful and safe. We never assumed what was happening elsewhere would necessarily happen here, but we had to be ready for anything.
When we had more time to plan, especially for larger events, we’d do risk assessments, operational planning and threat assessments to make sure we had the right resources in place. This was key for the safety of students and the Town, as well as the safety of our officers.
Under your leadership, the Hanover Police Department received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Can you explain what this means and why it was something you wanted to achieve?
CD: There are more than 200 law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire, and only 21 are accredited through CALEA. To me, CALEA is about striving for excellence and continuous improvement. There are roughly 188 standards that reflect best practices in law enforcement. These standards cover everything from written directives to policies and procedures. One of the things I appreciate about CALEA is that it’s not just internal assessments — you also have independent outside auditors come in to look at everything you’re doing. They review your policies, your procedures and even your operations. It forces you to take a good look at your agency and how you’re doing things.
For us, it also meant doing annual reports and analyses, which helped us make better-informed decisions based on facts. The hardest part was proving to CALEA that we were doing things right and following best practices, no matter how small the task might seem. But in the end, it made us a better agency, and it made us better able to serve the community.
What’s next for you?
CD: I’m enjoying taking a relaxing vacation. My wife and I just got back from a cruise. I still want to continue to work. I’m not sure what field that will be in yet, but I keep my eyes open for something that may interest me, but I have to say it’s challenging. I’ve been in law enforcement since 1984 — when I was 21. I don’t know if I’ll do something different. I’m just keeping my mind open and looking for that next challenge that comes along.
What are you going to miss most about Hanover?
CD: The people and the relationships. I really enjoyed working with people and looking at ways to make a difference — asking how we can make things better internally and externally for our community. I’m going to miss taking the time to understand what Hanover’s needs are and how we as an agency can help.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
