Hanover Police Department

A message from Hanover Police Chief Charlie Dennis:

​The Hanover Police Department has long recognized the importance of working with victims, community members, advocacy groups, and our health and prevention organizations. These relationships are crucial during the process of investigating and solving crimes, especially the crime of sexual assault.

​Sexual assaults are one of the most under reported crimes in our nation and that must change. To help us meet this critical challenge and bring change, we have chosen to implement the You Have Options Program (YHOP) in the Hanover Police Department. This is a program that is victim-centered and offender-focused.

​Our motto is “HPD C.A.R.E.S”. The “CARES” stands for Compassion And Respect in Every Situation. As we continue to demonstrate compassion and respect through our delivery of services, we have implemented this outstanding new program to help us better serve victims of sexual assault. Our participation in this program is our commitment to you, a sexual assault survivor, that you will not only be heard, but will also have your individual concerns addressed during both the reporting and investigative processes.

​We strive to treat all members of our Hanover and Dartmouth communities with compassion and respect. By doing so, we believe it established a high level of trust that allows survivors to feel safe, comfortable, and in control while reporting their experience to us. Our officers take each incident very seriously. The person who committed the sexual assault is solely responsible for that assault and one of our jobs as law enforcement officers is to gather evidence to hold offenders accountable for their crimes.

​Our officers and detectives receive advanced training on trauma-informed interviewing and investigative strategies to help us identify serial sexual perpetrators. None of that work can begin without a sexual assault survivor feeling safe and comfortable to report their experiences to us.

​We sincerely appreciate every sexual assault survivor who begins the process of reporting their experience to us. We understand that every survivor of sexual assault will have unique concerns during the reporting process and we will work with each survivor individually to address those concerns. 

​No one at the Hanover Police Department expects any sexual assault survivor to make a decision regarding their participation in a criminal investigation when they initially come forward to report. We provide sexual assault victims with all relevant information and then give them the time they need to make decisions that are right for them regardless of the criminal investigation. Priority is always given to a sexual assault survivor’s physical safety and mental well-being. Our officers will dedicate whatever resources are necessary to satisfy a person’s safety needs.

​I hope that those considering reporting will take a moment to read about the “20 Elements of a Victim-Centered and Offender-Focused You Have Options Program Law Enforcement Response”. Outlined within those elements are options for reporting to the Hanover Police Department. Our officers and investigators are always available to speak with you if there are questions about the reporting or the investigative process. There is no requirement to provide any identifying information to get answers and we will work to find a sexual assault advocate and medical care even if you never intend to file a police report.

​In closing, the Hanover Police Department strives to work in a manner that will always represent your best interests as a sexual assault survivor. Please know that if you choose to report, our YHOP program is a commitment to sexual assault survivors and our desire to work with you throughout this process.

Respectfully, 

Charles B. Dennis
Chief of Police
Hanover Police Department