‘Management failure’ and lack of training led to unauthorized contract, state officials say

Former Assistant Commissioner Paul Raymond had no experience with the prison system when he started working in a top position at the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, nor did he receive any training.

Several different organizational charts gave conflicting descriptions of the assistant commissioner’s role and responsibilities, according to a report from the Attorney General’s Office, which investigated the department’s purchase of 192 Tasers without clear approval.

The investigation cleared top officials of any criminal wrongdoing but identified “a number of deficiencies” at the department, including the gray area around Raymond’s role.

A longtime state employee, Raymond’s responsibilities had mostly entailed emergency management or public information at the Department of Safety until he was appointed as the director of security and training for the Department of Corrections. After less than a year in that role, Raymond was confirmed as the assistant commissioner — a position that was ill-defined and for which he received no training, according to the report, which was released last week.

Executive Councilor John Stephen, a Manchester Republican, requested the legal review by the Public Integrity Unit of the attorney general’s office after the Department of Corrections accepted the shipment of Tasers in 2024 — worth about $2 million — despite not receiving approval from the Executive Council. The five-member council acts as a check on the executive branch’s power and oversees all state contracts that exceed $10,000.

“That is a management failure, and it is preventable,” Stephen said in a statement following the attorney general’s report. “If a senior official in the department does not understand what requires the approval of the Governor and Council, that is a problem the commissioner can fix and that should be fixed before any contract comes before this body.”

Commissioner Helen Hanks resigned without explanation in May 2025, and Raymond was immediately placed on paid administrative leave. Raymond later resigned and founded a public safety communications firm. In 2024, his last full year of employment with the state, Raymond earned nearly $150,000. He did not respond to an interview request for this story.

‘No formal training’

The attorney general’s investigation revealed “some ambiguity” over Raymond’s role. Per state law, no one reports to the assistant commissioner, though several organizational charts showed conflicting structures.

Assistant commissioners do not have job descriptions. Instead, the role takes on whichever duties the commissioner chooses to delegate. Under Hanks, Raymond “was tasked with managing assigned projects and initiatives” in addition to official travel and the duties typically held by a public information officer, according to the report. Acquiring the Tasers was his largest project.

Raymond did not receive any training for his new role, the report said, although Hanks told investigators that the state used to have a training program for new commissioners and other leadership roles.

“However, this program no longer appears to exist, and Mr. Raymond seems to have had no formal training — through this program or otherwise — on his role or his responsibilities within the NHDOC organization, including any training on the policies, rules and laws governing contracting and procurement,” the report said.

Hanks said she thought Raymond was equipped for the task because he’d worked in the Department of Safety for a decade, according to the report, but “in retrospect, Commissioner Hanks conceded that Mr. Raymond may have been ‘over his head’ as assistant commissioner and that NHDOC had failed to adequately prepare him for his responsibilities.”

In his statement, Stephen said he’s confident that the new commissioner, Bill Hart, is ensuring proper training at the Department of Corrections.

Commissioners and assistant commissioners are nominated by the governor, then confirmed by a vote of the Executive Council.

Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill said the incident presents an opportunity for the state to review how it onboards and trains employees, top political appointees like Raymond

“This process raises questions for me about, what are our approaches as state government to onboarding directors and commissioners?” Liot Hill said. “How are we making sure that we are setting up our leaders for success?”

Turnover in those roles can be high, Liot Hill said, and duties can be modified from one administration to the next.

“Any time there’s a procedural deficiency, it’s a good time to review management practices,” which include clear job descriptions and training, she said.