Full Notification

To Those Who Live, Work, Play, and Thrive in the Town of Hollis:

We want to provide you information on the Hollis Police Department and Hollis Communications Center’s efforts to safeguard our employees from the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), with the intent of continuing with our mission of providing highly effective police services to members of our community. Please know that the health and safety of our employees, as well as your health, safety, and well-being are and will remain our number one priority.

The State of New Hampshire has declared a State of Emergency related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although there are a number of outbreaks in areas throughout the State, there are no known cases of COVID-19 in the Town of Hollis. Nonetheless, the Town’s governing body and public safety agencies continue to take steps in an effort to provide for the health and safety of our employees and the Hollis community.

Within Our Community:

• We will continue to encourage good hygiene practices including washing hands and limiting person-to-person contact.
• We will continue to encourage community members that have a fever, cough or difficulty breathing to stay away from others, practicing social distancing, and make contact with their medical provider if needed.
• We will work to meet the needs of at-risk populations to reduce risk within their environments.

In Our Facilities:

• The Hollis Police Department maintains vigorous cleaning of our facility and we have scheduled a deep cleaning of all building areas, which will occur on Monday, March 16th.
• We have provided a supply of wipes, hand sanitizer, and protective masks (if needed) that are available to all department employees. We have also worked with the Fire Department and Emergency Management Director to strategize and plan for mitigation efforts in the event community spread is presented with the Town.

We will also continue to look for and identify opportunities for staff and the public to interact other than face-to-face. Effective today, March 16th, I have changed the call procedures for officers, thereby allowing them to take reports and gather information from reporting parties via telephone. This, however, does not mean that officers will not respond to calls that require their attention, such as those crimes or incidents that present an imminent and/or immediate threat to safety.

We want to be your partner in reducing the risks of COVID-19, while working to safeguard our employees from any unnecessary exposure. Identifying opportunities to lower this risk has been our priority since the first case of the virus was recorded in New Hampshire. As such, I have ordered all police officers to refrain from entering any home in response to calls for service, including medical calls, unless there is an imminent threat to life. Additionally, members of the Hollis Communications Center are required to ask screening questions to all callers in the event they are requesting police service, both at the police station, their residence, or a place of business. Last, but not least, we have established a system of internal reporting processes and control measures in the event an employee is exposed to, or exhibits symptoms of the virus.

As the days and weeks progress, we will continue to monitor this public health emergency and it is more than likely we will adjust our practices to best protect our employees and the public. Please feel free to contact me directly should you have any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Joseph R. Hoebeke
Chief of Police