21-P:7-c Authority of State Office Complex Police Force Officers; Memorandum of Understanding; Funding. –
I. All police officers of the state office complex police force shall possess such police powers as are granted to them by the commissioner of safety pursuant to RSA 21-P:4, XI and shall be fully certified as police officers by the police standards and training council pursuant to RSA 106-L. In addition they shall receive additional training in dealing with persons with mental illness as specified by the commissioner of safety after consultation with the chief executive officer of the New Hampshire hospital.
II. The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the commissioner of safety for the purposes of delineating the functions, duties, and responsibilities of the department of safety in regard to the provision of security and dispatch services to the New Hampshire hospital. The memorandum of understanding shall include, but not be limited to: responding to emergencies within New Hampshire hospital, maintaining the security of the hospital buildings, insuring the safety of patients, staff, and visitors, apprehending involuntarily committed persons who leave the hospital without authorization, accepting custody of involuntary admissions, transporting patients for medical, legal, and other purposes, investigating cases of abuse, neglect, sexual assault, and other criminal conduct, providing training, and conducting searches and seizures of contraband. In addition, the department of safety shall provide dispatch services including, but not limited to: monitoring hospital access between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., operating and monitoring video security systems, receiving incoming communications, assessing the priority of the call and dispatching appropriate assistance, coordinating emergency preparedness procedures, receiving incoming fire calls and alarms, and operating the switchboard between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and at other times as needed.
III. Within the limits of funds budgeted for state office complex police force positions, the department of health and human services shall maintain the funding for the state office complex police force and pay the department of safety for providing these services.