Four more deputies sought to combat drug-related crime

Washington County is seeing a game‑changing shift in drug‑related crimes that are being driven by a change in drug dealer make‑up. At the second special meeting held by the Washington County commissioners to tackle the rising rate of drug‑related crimes on January 23, Chief Deputy Mike Crabtree of the Washington County Sheriff's Office explained how the addict dealer, dealing to support their habit, has been changing to the dealer who is in the business to make money. "We've always had crime, but what's changed is the frequency, and it's the drug pipeline that has changed the game," Crabtree said. Drug dealers from out‑of‑state are increasingly entering the county to sell drugs, he explained. And with those dealers now supplying heroin and cocaine, the next logical drug to enter the pipeline will be methamphetamine. "When that happens we're going to beg for our opiate problem," he said grimly.
Armed robberies have gone from none in 2015 to eight in 2017, and there has been one already in 2018. "Robbery is a symptom of the desperation on the part of addicts," he said. He added for clarification that robbery, which involves a person, is different from a burglary, which involves property only. Both crimes are increasing, but robbery adds the element of personal injury or death and escalates the potential for tragedy.
To an audience of about 35 community members, selectmen and law enforcement officials, Crabtree presented a proposal for an increase to the county budget of about $531,000 and a subsequent annual increase of $343,000. The increase would expand the sheriff's department by four deputies, with one being in the drug unit. The first year's amount would include equipment purchases not needed for the following years, he explained.
While Chris Gardner, chair of the county commissioners, noted, as he had at the first meeting, that the county government only acts on the will of the "owners," or the county's residents, he cautioned, "We cannot sit with our heads in the sand" and wait for the letter‑writing campaign to kick in after something tragic occurs. To that effect, the county will be sending letters to all 46 municipal offices explaining the proposal's increase to the county budget. Acting on county budget committee member Lisa Hanscom's recommendation, the letter will include a breakdown of the actual dollar amount to each taxpayer such an increase would mean. As an example she used the current county budget's increase of over 7%. "It's a lot, but when it's broken down to an individual's tax increase, most can understand that amount and feel that it's doable," Hanscom said.
The sheriff's department had asked for three more deputies for the current fiscal year because of the increase in drug‑related crimes. However, because of budgetary pressures, that figure was whittled down to one additional deputy for an increase to the budget for wage amounts from almost $600,000 to $730,000 for the additional officer and union-negotiated increases for other staff.
Two Jonesport selectmen were present at the meeting and suggested the difficulty they faced in persuading their constituents to agree to such an increase. One suggested that if the sheriff's department could agree to add more hours spent in the community it might go a long way in building support. However, Crabtree noted that the sheriff's department could not act in that manner but needed to remain flexible in the way it handles incidents around the county's large area. Sheriff Barry Curtis noted that it can feel at times as if some Jonesport residents treat a deputy's presence as a game, tracking their every move with social media postings and other means of communication. It would help, he suggested, if residents worked with the department rather than against it. One of the selectmen then offered that if the department would be using new methods to solve the problem their case might be stronger. Crabtree offered to meet with any town selectmen or city councillors to discuss some of the new strategies that would be used, but for the sake of their effectiveness he did not want to speak about them in public forums.
Once the county letters have been sent, the commissioners hope to hear back from a majority, if not all, of the municipalities about the proposal. While waiting, they will be researching the legalities of changing the county's budget mid‑year. If there is no legal mechanism in place to do so, the proposal will go to the budget committee for consideration with the next fiscal year's budget, which starts in late summer.