Sheriff's Deputy Payne wins Deputy Smith award

From left, Sheriff David Dubois, County Commissioner Robert Watson, Deputy Sheriff Jennifer Payne and Commissioners George Maglaras and Leo Lessard.

The Strafford County Sheriff's Office today named Deputy Jennifer Payne as the 2016 recipient of the Deputy Charles E. Smith Memorial Award.

Payne is currently assigned as an investigator with the criminal investigative unit of the office and is part of a Warrant Apprehension Team, which is focused on apprehending individuals wanted for matters initiated within Strafford County Courts of Law.

She was nominated for this award and approved by an Awards Advisory Committee appointed in early April. Payne was recognized for her Exceptional Level of Public Service through work with the New Hampshire Special Olympics and her unyielding dedication to duty in showing compassion for those she comes in contact with as an investigator with the office, as well as her consistent work as a team player while working to accomplish the mission of law enforcement in Strafford County.

The award is issued each year during the month of May in memory of Deputy Charles E. Smith, who was killed in the line of duty, during the apprehension of a suspected thief in 1891.

Sheriff David G. Dubois said, "Deputy Payne has exemplified the characteristics of a compassionate professional law enforcement officer over the past 12 months. We congratulate her for a job well done."