Conway Police Department - Investigations

Investigative Services Division

The Investigative Services Division is responsible for investigating felony-level offenses, as well as complex or serious misdemeanor offenses, within the jurisdiction of the Town of Conway. Additionally, the Investigative Services Division conducts all applicant background investigations and may be assigned other specialized tasks at the direction of the Chief of Police. Currently, the Investigative Services Division is comprised of four detectives, led by the Detective Sergeant. The members of the Conway Police Department Investigative Services Division understand the importance of working closely with community members, stakeholders, and outside agencies to ensure complete and thorough criminal investigations.

Richard G. Theberge

Detective/Master Patrol Officer

Richard D. Gaudreau

Detective/Master Patrol Officer

Responsibilities

Detectives assigned to the Investigative Services Division are responsible for conducting investigations involving controlled/narcotic drugs and work closely with outside agencies, such as the Attorney General's Drug Task Force. Members of the Investigative Services Division also offer assistance in investigations conducted by, or falling within the jurisdiction of, the New Hampshire State Police - Major Crime Unit. Detectives also work closely with agencies such as the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, Carroll County Attorney's Office, the Division of Children, Youth, and Families, as well as the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services.

Some of the responsibilities of the Conway Police Department's Investigative Services Division include:

Drafting, Application, and Execution of Criminal Search Warrants
Evidence/Property Collection, Control, and Release (Including Firearms and Lost & Found Items)
Registration of Sexual Offenders and Enforcement for Non-Compliance
Employee Applicant Background Investigations
Crime Scene Processing, Evidence Collection & Photography/Videography
Preparation and Presentation of Criminal Cases to the Carroll County Grand Jury
Illegal Drug Possession and Sales Investigations, in Cooperation with the NH Attorney General's Drug Task Force (DTF)
Cyber Crime Investigations to Include Child Sexual Exploitation Investigations in Cooperation with the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force
Conduct Interviews and Interrogations in Criminal Cases
Forensic Acquisition and Analysis of Mobile Electronic Devices
Conduct Joint Investigations into Child Abuse or Neglect in Cooperation with DCYF
Conduct Joint Investigations into Allegations of Elder/Impaired Adult Abuse and Financial Exploitation in Cooperation with BEAS

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If you have information that can help with an active or ongoing investigation please call us at (603) 356-5715.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Conway Police Department has some of my property, how do I get it back?

Found Property:

Items which are turned in to the Conway Police Department as lost and found property are held for the time period required by NH RSA 471-C:13 and if not rightfully claimed by the owner within such time period will be returned to the finder or sold at public auction. All release of property must be arranged by calling the Conway Police Department and making an appointment, unless otherwise advised. In certain circumstances, arrangements can be made to return property via UPS at the expense of the rightful owner.

Firearms:

Firearms held for safe keeping may be returned upon a proof of positive identification of the rightful owner so long as there is no legally barring reason that the rightful owner may not possess a firearm (i.e. certain convictions, protectives orders, or bail conditions).

Firearms seized pursuant to a protective order issued by the court may not be released without a valid court order issued by a judge granting such release of firearms, deadly weapons, or ammunitions seized pursuant to the protective order. For more information, refer to NH RSA 173-B:5 section X, as well as the New Hampshire Circuit Court website by clicking here.

Firearms seized as evidence in any criminal case will not be released until a valid order granting the return of such seized firearms is issued by the court having jurisdiction over the criminal proceedings pursuant to NH RSA 595-A:6.

All release of firearms, deadly weapons, or ammunition must be arranged by calling the Conway Police Department and making an appointment.

All other evidence:

Any property which was seized in connection with a criminal investigation is considered evidence and will not be released without a valid court order granting such property be returned, issued by the court having jurisdiction over the criminal proceedings pursuant to NH RSA 595-A:6.

All release of evidence with a valid motion must be arranged by calling the Conway Police Department and making an appointment.

Why is an appointment required for property returns?

The Investigative Services Division is charged with the safekeeping of all property and evidence stored within the Conway Police Department. All property is securely stored and only members of the Investigative Services Division have access to the keys to access your property. It is also imperative that proper checks are made to ensure that the property can legally be released are completed prior to release, this process is sometimes dependent on communication with other agencies.

In an effort to prevent frustration and lost time to the individual attempting to pick up their property, it is imperative that you call the Conway Police Department at (603) 356-5715 and request to make an appointment to pick up your property. Otherwise, you may travel to the Conway Police Department when no one is available to release your property and you will be sent away.

I am a victim of cybercrime, what should I do?

You are not alone, in 2021 there were 24,299 reports of cybercrime made to the Internet Crime Complain Center (IC3.GOV) with over $956 million dollars in estimated loss to victims. If you find yourself a victim of cybercrime, you are encouraged to report the activity to the Conway Police Department as well as the NH Information and Analysis Center and the Internet Crime Complaint Center. It is important to remember that in many of these case, it takes time for an investigation to be conducted. However, time is of the essence when reporting cybercrime when it involves the unauthorized or illegal transfer of funds electronically or via wire fraud. When such crimes are reported quickly, measures can be taken to attempt to recover funds.

For more information and for links to IC3 and the NH Information and Analysis Center cybercrime reporting form, please click here.

How do I register as a sexual offender in the Town of Conway?

Sexual offender registry is available on a walk-in basis at the Conway Police Department, 35 East Conway Road, in Center Conway, NH from 8:00AM to 4:00PM (EST) Monday through Friday. It may be beneficial to call ahead to confirm a Detective is available to complete the registration process with you. Please come prepared with details pertaining to any changes that need to be made to your registration.

How can I obtain information about a sexual offender within the Town of Conway?

The New Hampshire State Police Sexual Offender Registry has a publicly available website to search information relative to sexual offenders within the State of New Hampshire, including the Town of Conway. If you call the Conway Police Department for information, you will be directed to this website or provided information which is available on the website directly. You can search for sexual offenders in New Hampshire by clicking here.

How can I check on the status of my case?

The Detective assigned to your case will typically communicate any changes in status to you directly, either by phone or email if supplied. We pride ourselves in working collectively to ensure that victims of crime are well informed of the status of their case, to include any case closure, suspension, criminal arrest, referral for indictment or in the event the investigation is unfounded. All cases that warrant additional investigation are forwarded to the Investigative Services Division by the Patrol Division. In some cases, it may take up to two weeks or more before a preliminary report is prepared by an officer, approved by a supervisor and forwarded to the Investigative Services Division. If you are ever in question as to the status of your case, please feel free to call and speak with the reporting officer or a member of the Investigative Services Division at (603) 356-5715.

What do you mean by case status?

There are several types of reports that can be made to an officer at the Conway Police Department. Some police reports may not be criminal in nature and are only generated to document the officer's actions, these are called non-criminal or "no crime" reports. These reports are not referred to the Investigative Services Division, as the officer has determined that no crime has been committed.

The following is a glossary of case status' for criminal cases:

OPEN:

Any case in which there is an active or ongoing investigation will be considered open. Some cases can take multiple months or even years to complete and may still be listed with an OPEN case status.

CLOSED:

Cases can be marked as closed for a number of reasons, for instance if the perpetrator is arrested the case will be marked as closed. This doesn't necessarily mean there isn't still work being conducted in the case, it just means a case resolution has been reached and a perpetrator has been arrested to answer to the crime. Some other reasons a case may be closed is due to the death of an offender, a lack of jurisdiction, or the statute of limitations has expired for the offense.

SUSPENDED:

Cases may be marked as suspended due to a number of reasons, the most common of which is that there are no further leads to follow in the case investigation or that no suspect has been identified. A case may also be suspended if the victim cannot be located or contacted during an investigation, or if a victim requests that the case be suspended. However, a determination and potential investigation into any alleged witness tampering may be conducted prior to such a change in case status.

UNFOUNDED:

An unfounded complaint simply means that, although it was originally reported to be criminal activity, information has come to light which proved that the activity was not criminal. For example, a burglary report at a family camp on Conway Lake may prompt an investigation into family property missing from inside the camp. However, the investigation shows that another family member with authorized access came to the camp and took the property to show at a family reunion with intentions to return the property to the camp at a later date. What was originally reported as a crime, is discovered not to be a crime and will be marked as unfounded.

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