PLAINFIELD, N.H. (WCAX) – A New Hampshire community near the Connecticut river now only has one police officer after their police chief resigned.
“Plainfield is like the kind of town where if you call the police department because you think you left your coffee pot on, we’re going to go in and check your coffee pot,” said Stephen Halleran, Plainfield N.H. Town Administrator. But that may not be possible now. Plainfield town administrator Stephen Halleran is working to fill three full time officers, all while having only one employed by the town. Halleran said former Police Chief Anthony Swett resigned last week, leaving Robert Depietro as the sole member of the department. The town used to have three full time officers and one working part time. Halleran said the change will likely just mean fewer patrols not an increase in crime in the town. “I grew up in this small town, and I can tell you it’s a wonderful community and so people I think, our police officers, get an opportunity to really get to know our residents and participate in their lives,” said Halleran.
“They’ve always been very nice they come in and out of the store all the time and you can always count on them,” said Plainfield Resident, Paula Cabot. Residents in the town, including workers at the Plainfield Country Store, say they’ve only had positive interactions with officers who pop into the shop but would like to see a fully staffed department. “We need probably like one or two, like there needs to have two like sometimes,” said Hardik Patel, Plainfield Country Store manager. “There’s always concern when you don’t have a full department but these guys are going to do what they can and we don’t have a lot of crime here in Plainfield which is a good thing, but I would really like to see a couple of more people come on,” said Cabot. Halleran says he’s working with nearby town of Cornish to try and schedule officers at different times to increase coverage. He also said he trying to work with the New Hampshire State Police to fill some gaps if needed while the town hires new staff. “Even though it is a very competitive market we think Plainfield is kind of a fun place to raise your family to put down some roots and to spend time in our community,” said Halleran.
Halleran says he hopes to hire at least two officers to get the small department back to full staff within a month.