North Hampton police ‘don’t like’ look of cruisers: What new chief is doing about it

NORTH HAMPTON — A month on the job and the town’s new police chief is thinking “outside the box,” in a move he hopes will build a positive connection between the department, the schools and the community.

North Hampton Police Chief Robert LaBarge Jr. told the Select Board recently that in his first weeks on the job, he wanted to take the pulse of the department and town before making any major changes. Aside from getting away from paper by streamlining police reports to electronic digital formats, LaBarge said he’s spent time getting to know his officers.

One thing he learned is they have a problem with their wheels.

“I talked to the police officers about the police cars, and they unanimously told me they have disdain for them,” LaBarge said. “I don’t want to say they hate them, but they don’t like them.”

LaBarge said officers dislike that the cruisers have gone unchanged “forever” without being updated. The issue got him thinking.

“We came up with the idea of working with the graphic arts students at Winnacunnet High School,” LaBarge said.

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After reaching out to WHS educators, he found teachers pleased with the prospect and students who would “like to help,” by coming up with new looks for the town’s fleet of five marked cruisers.

When the high-schoolers renditions are complete, LaBarge said the Police Department will take the designs to North Hampton School so the students in grades K-8 can vote on them.

“The great thing about this is … it’s going to build a bond, going to build trust,” he said. “The students are actually going to have a say in what the police car looks like.”

In creating a closer relationship between local police and youth, LaBarge said it could also get students thinking about law enforcement and its STEM-based related fields as possible career choices.

The Select Board loved the idea. Not only is it a way to engage students, said Select Board member Jim Maggiore, but this type of outreach will “filter up” to parents in the community.

“(That) creates that bond, that connection that’s so important to build trust, and that partnership between the community and police,” Maggiore said. “That helps everyone. Thank you for thinking outside the box.”

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Board member James Sununu said the art department at WHS has “tons of talented kids.”

“It’s a great, great program they have there,” Sununu said. “Whatever they come up with, whatever the options, they’re going to be terrific. And getting youngsters (at North Hampton School) involved is great.”

Sununu said with staff shortages, sometimes it’s hard for police to maintain a physical presence in the school. But every time the department engages with the school, it’s been a great experience, he added.

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Board member Jonathan Pinette found the idea “exciting” but he wondered if LaBarge is giving the graphic arts students any guidelines to follow.

In hopes of letting the students' “creativity flow,” LaBarge said the department has no guidelines. But he added he would enjoy seeing the student artists incorporate an ocean wave somewhere in the design.

With budgets always a factor, LeBarge said the department is looking into making the changes using “a wrap” that will cover the cruisers. It brings the cost down considerably from giving each cruiser a completely new paint job.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Winnacunnet students to design new look for North Hampton cruisers