[froggy]

Make this suggestion to where it'll be read by people of authority, like Councilor Ray Burton, state police training dept. (except a while ago, I found impossible to find an email address to even a state police secretary), Center Harbor Police and other police chiefs, County, and any others you can think of. As I posted here about EZ Pass: do we really think those kinds of people read this forum? Guess what, NO, is my conclusion.

Originally Posted by CanisLupusArctos

It is time we had some better law enforcement on the lake. When I worked as a full-time ambulance EMT in the Boston area I very quickly learned the difference between a public safety professional who's an experienced realist and one who's new and inexperienced. On this lake, we've traditionally had a Marine Patrol that's new and inexperienced, and it often shows. The offenders (and even many law-abiding people) don't take them seriously as a result.

The purpose of this isn't to knock the NHMP because for years this lake never needed anything more than glorified security guards in boats. That is what a lot of NHMP officers are. No fault to them - every new officer has to start somewhere.

The purpose of this post is to say that the time has come for something more than security guards in boats... we need officers with experience and a better reputation.

Here's an idea for discussion... how about ending the NH Marine Patrol, and replacing it with a "NH State Police/Marine Division?" The rationale? The state troopers already have a motorcycle division, an aviation division, and an equestrian division (horsies). Fill the Marine positions with existing state troopers. One might ask, "What would they do in winter?" The answer is, "Whatever the motorcycle Staties do in winter." You don't see much of them once the weather gets cold.

Re-paint the boats green with gold lettering just like the cruisers. Change the name on the side of the boat from "Marine Patrol" to "State Trooper." Let the smokeybear in the boat wear his division's own variation of the green & gray uniform, just as the bikey division does.

I should emphasize that the State Trooper boats should be captained by officers who have enough experience to know the law AND common sense, who know when to get aggressive and when to be nice.

At the same time, perhaps the towns could get into the act of enforcing the laws of the water. When you speed along I-93 in Tilton, (example), you risk being pulled over by a state trooper OR the Tilton Police. The same should be true of Winni's bays, where the boat traffic is most concentrated. Have Laconia PD drive around on Paugus Bay, Meredith PD in their town's bay, Alton PD in Alton Bay, etc...

Granted, there are some people who will offend no matter what, but my guess is that if Capt. Bonehead started having run-ins with State Troopers on the water, and occasionally an on-water ticket from Laconia's finest, he'd get the message. Maybe he'd even take his act elsewhere.

It's not just about Capt. Bonehead, either. This lake's summer scene is starting to involve other types of crime that we haven't seen on the lake in the past - drug trafficking, for example. It all points to our need for better law enforcement on the water. I'm not in favor of making the lake a police state, I'd just like to see the same police presence that exists anywhere else in the state where lots of people gather.