Agencies discuss crime and shortage of officers

In a discussion on the issues facing law enforcement in Washington County, including the increase in violent crime caused by drug trafficking, the Calais City Council met on April 27 with representatives of local, county and state law enforcement agencies. Lt. Michael Johnston of the Maine State Police, along with Sheriff Barry Curtis and Chief Deputy Michael Crabtree of the Washington County Sheriff's Department and Calais Police Chief David Randall, shared their thoughts on the challenges, including the difficulty in recruiting and retaining officers.
Lt. Johnston noted that the Maine State Police are seeing an unprecedented shortfall in troopers, and the City of Calais is operating with only three staffed positions out of the six authorized. This results in many times when there are no Calais officers on duty, and coverage is provided by either the state police or the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Johnston noted that currently the state police may not have any trooper patrolling Washington County and that they are generally only able to respond to emergency calls with a risk to public safety or life.
Sheriff Curtis explained that there are currently three patrol districts in the county. The districts cover roughly Danforth to Robbinston, Robbinston to Jonesboro, and Jonesboro to the western county line, and each zone extends inland to include all of interior Washington County. It is not always possible to have a deputy in each zone, as many of the calls require multiple officers as a safety precaution.
Curtis and Johnston both pointed out that Calais is not alone in being unable to provide around-the-clock coverage, noting that Eastport, Machias and Milbridge also have staffing shortages. There is a good working relationship among the state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, and all are working together to identify strategies to maximize the availability of officers.
Curtis described the challenges caused by the increase in illegal drug trafficking in the county, which contributes to the amount of violent crime.
In response to a question from councillors, Johnston and Curtis acknowledged that there are legislative steps that could ease the burden, including increasing the operations of the courts in the county, but no simple solutions. Curtis and Crabtree indicated that they are advocating for some changes in the Maine Criminal Justice Academy requirements as they relate to municipal officers that may provide an increase in interest, but those changes would take time to implement.
Following the meeting, Johnston stated that his ideal would be to have at least 15 troopers living in Washington County, but currently there are far fewer. Curtis stated that his goal would be to have a total of 32 staff in the sheriff's office. Currently there are 12 patrol deputies, two detectives, two assigned to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and one lieutenant, in addition to Curtis and Crabtree.
Johnston and Crabtree both recognize the value of the U.S. Border Patrol units in the county, which, along with the Maine Warden Service and Maine Marine Patrol, frequently assist on emergency incidents. They also noted that this assistance is not guaranteed and depends on the availability and location of those units.

Other action
In other action during the city council meeting, three vendors submitted bids for the summer mowing program. Bids were received from St. Croix Services of Calais, Lund Construction of Pembroke and Leeman's Lawncare of Calais. Block one -- the Union Street playground, North Street public safety building, the Milltown park, basketball court and playground, the grass island at the intersection of North and Baring streets and the rotary -- was awarded to Leeman's Lawncare in the amount of $2,550. Lund Construction bid $3,900, and St. Croix Services bid $4,670.
Only one company submitted a bid for block two -- the Red Beach Cemetery and the Red Beach ballfield and playground -- and it was awarded to Lund Construction in the amount of $6,900. The motion passed with Councillor Marcia Rogers opposed.
Block three, consisting of the waterfront walkway and park, was awarded to St. Croix Services in the amount of $3,170. Leeman's Lawncare bid $3,260, and Lund Construction bid $3,100.
Block four, consisting of Fountain Park on Main Street, the library, Union Street parking lot, the city building area, Triangle Park, Memorial Park and the grass strips on Calais Avenue between Main and Washington streets, was awarded to Lund Construction in the amount of $3,800. Leeman's Lawncare bid $5,899, and St. Croix Services bid $5,770.
The council approved the request by Living Innovations for permission to install a small, raised garden on city-owned property adjacent to their office. The council also approved a sewer abatement request for account #4, 29 Steamboat Street, in the amount of $1,951.44.
The council then discussed the purchase of new video surveillance cameras to be installed in locations around the city. After discussion, council unanimously approved the purchase of 10 Verkada cameras, mounts and five-year licenses at a cost of $10,650, as detailed in a quote from ByteSpeed. The cost of the purchase is to be paid from other capital projects.
The council also unanimously voted to approve the recommendation by the public works committee to purchase a new truck from H.P. Fairfield, with a loan amount not to exceed $275,000.
The council discussed the change in work hours during the summer for the public works department. It was determined that this change was simply an administrative change and did not require a council vote.