This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
In the first year and a half of a state program to protect New Hampshire’s 58-mile border with Canada, hundreds of police patrols and more than $1 million in spending netted 47 arrests, an average of fewer than three a month.
That’s according to reports from New Hampshire Department of Safety Commissioner Robert L. Quinn on the Northern Border Alliance program, which received an additional $600,000 in funding in the new two-year state budget.
“The Northern Border Alliance has enhanced public safety by enabling faster response times to emergencies and increasing backup and support for law enforcement,” Quinn said in a July 18 report to Gov. Kelly Ayotte and legislative leaders.
“Participants are committed to community safety and fostering strong relationships with all residents and visitors.”
The increased presence of law enforcement in the border area is serving as a deterrent to crime, he said.
Rep. Nicholas Germana, D-Keene, who is the deputy Democratic floor leader in the New Hampshire House, said Tuesday that the program’s funding would be better used on more pressing needs.
The Keene State College history professor says taxpayer dollars are being wasted without any evidence that enhanced law enforcement was ever needed to help federal officials with their responsibility to protect the border.
“It’s another example of the Republicans wanting to, in many ways, attach themselves to issues at the national level,” he said. “This was their desire to have a border crisis.”
New Hampshire Executive Councilor Joseph Kenney, R-Wakefield, whose district takes in northern New Hampshire, said the value of the Northern Border Alliance goes well beyond the number of arrests that have been made.
“You’re providing a deterrent against people coming across the border illegally,” he said.
“What happens is that the bad actors will find out reinforcements are patrolling and watching the northern border, and, therefore, they are going to head further west, or try to go further east.”
Quinn’s report said that as of June 30, the program, which began last year, had had $1.1 million in expenditures, including State Police overtime and grants to local law enforcement and equipment.
The equipment includes a Chevrolet Silverado heavy duty pickup, a cargo trailer, two Bombardier Ski-Doo Backcountry Adrenaline Snowmobiles, a utility terrain vehicle, 10 helmets, three pairs of gloves, four pairs of overshoes and five pairs of nylon snow pants.
There were 10 arrests from Jan. 1 through June 30 this year, for allegations of drug possession, driving without a license and simple assault.
There was one report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection about suspicious activity at New Hampshire’s border with Canada during this period.
Also during that period, state, county, and local agencies participated in a total of 312 patrol shifts, or 3,261 hours of work.
