Lack of law enforcement officers hits county municipalities

The difficulty in attracting and retaining law enforcement officers is a nationwide problem that has been hitting Washington County, with some fearing that area towns are about to fall off a cliff because of the scarcity of trained personnel. A number of Downeast municipalities are short of officers, and the sheriff's department is being strained to fill holes in coverage. The reasons for the shortage range from low pay to low morale in some departments. However, there are efforts now to reverse the trend and help get people interested in entering the field.
Chris Gardner, the chair of the Washington County commissioners and currently a reserve police officer, says that, when he started working as an officer 25 years ago, there were between 50 and 55 full-time county and municipal positions filled in Washington County. Now, there are only 44 funded positions, and at least 10 of those are not filled.
Gardner notes that when he applied for a full-time job with the Calais Police Department in 1997 there were four good applicants who were all police officers. "Now, departments are robbing from each other, and there are way more openings than candidates." Machias doesn't currently have a single full-time officer, Calais lacks a full-time department and Eastport is short of officers. "What a change in 25 years," he says. "The question becomes: Is crime better or worse today?" Gardner notes that crime today "is so much different," with "hard drugs like heroin and fentanyl being shipped" into the county by organized criminals. Meanwhile, the number of law enforcement officers is at only 60% of what it had been.
While people point out that "we can't arrest our way out" of the drug problem and that prevention, treatment and law enforcement are all equally important in addressing the issue, on the law enforcement side "we are struggling to maintain that." Gardner argues that part of the reason that organized criminals come to Washington County is because they know that law enforcement coverage is lacking. He estimates that 75% of the crime in the county is drug-related.
The issue is not unique to Washington County, as there are not enough police officers throughout Maine. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office was offering a $16,000 sign-on bonus for an experienced officer and is still advertising, according to Gardner. "It's become a bidding war" for officers. "They're a precious commodity" because there are so few of them.
Mary-Anne LaMarre, executive director of the Maine Sheriff's Association, says that she recently polled the 16 counties in the state about staffing issues and found that half of the 12 counties that have responded have unfilled law enforcement positions. She adds that the percentage does not reflect shortages within the county jails, as there is a widespread shortage of corrections officers in the state. "Some have closed pods, as they are unable to fully staff their jails," she says. "Others have been forced to relocate inmates due to staff shortages within their jails. The staffing crisis facing Maine's county corrections system is significant."
Municipalities struggle All of the municipalities in Washington County with their own police departments have been struggling with attracting and retaining officers.
While Machias currently does not have a police force, with the recent resignations of Police Chief Todd Hand and the one remaining officer, interim Town Manager Bill Kitchen is hopeful that the four open full-time positions can be filled soon. He points out that Chief Hand had built out the department's infrastructure, with a new police station, the reequipping of all three police cruisers and the purchase of tactical gear. He says the department is "turn-key and ready to go" and notes that the new staff will start with a clean slate and "no baggage." He adds, "There is the opportunity to build something from the ground up." There are at least two good candidates so far, and Kitchen believes they can fill positions within the coming weeks. The town is currently relying on the sheriff's department, along with its reserve officers.
Kitchen agrees it can be difficult to find and retain officers, with area departments struggling to increase wages. The full-time officer who most recently resigned was making $20.50 an hour, and a new contract includes a wage increase of a couple of dollars, but Kitchen believes it needs to be at least in the $23 to $25 range.
Calais Mayor Billy Howard says the city has also been affected by a lack of officers, with some time slots when there is no municipal coverage, as the department is currently down by at least three full-time officers. "We've been trying to fill positions for over a year," he says. "It's hard to keep them and hard to attract them," which he says is an issue throughout the country.
"It's time management -- where do we focus our officers," Howard says. The city has had to fall back on the state police or county sheriff's department. Howard notes that he had been upset that the state police were pulling people over for seatbelt violations in the city while the more serious drug problem continues to be an ongoing issue in Calais, with two overdoses in just the past week.
There has been some consideration of contracting with the sheriff's department for additional coverage, as Lubec does, but so far the city is continuing with the current arrangement. As for recruiting new officers, Howard says, "We have to offer $23 an hour -- we gave a $3 raise in the union contract -- plus full benefits." Like others, Howard says the recruitment issue is nationwide, with people not interested in going into the field.
In Eastport, which has suffered from a turnover in police chiefs -- with nine chiefs in 10 years -- the city, which has budgeted for three full-time officers and a police chief, is down by two officers. Even if those positions were filled, the department could not provide 24/7 coverage, as a fourth officer would be needed. Both the sheriff's department and Pleasant Point Police Department are helping provide coverage in the city in the meantime. City Manager Kate Devonshire believes that pay is "a small portion" of the issue in attracting officers to Eastport. For a new officer who is certified, the city is now offering $19.50 an hour, with the city having bumped up the amount from $18 after the fourth officer position was taken out of the budget. Devonshire notes that location may also be a factor, as the city requires that officers live within a reasonable response time of Eastport. She does feel that Eastport is in a better position for retaining officers than some municipalities, as it has a full-time officer and chief, along with a new officer who lives in Eastport and may soon come on board, who are all committed to serving the community.
Devonshire also points to the difficulties posed by municipalities having to send new, uncertified officers to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for training, as the city normally pays that cost and the officer is away during that time. She wonders if some remote training options would be possible.
Over in Lubec, a recent spate of vandalism, speeding and thefts has caused the select board to consider paying the sheriff's department to hire an additional officer to cover the town. Lubec already allocates $5,000 each year for "sheriff selective enforcement" in the town, after the police department was disbanded years ago.
Chief Deputy Michael Crabtree of the Washington County Sheriff's Office says that while the department is currently fully staffed, working with local police departments that are understaffed "puts a strain on us." "We now have to do more," assisting the Machias, Eastport, Calais and sometimes Baileyville departments.
Reasons for lack of candidates As for the reasons for the lack of officers, Gardner points to the training requirements by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, which he describes as now being "onerous." "If you can only do 28 push-ups and not 29, you can't be a police officer," he comments facetiously about what he views as some of the arbitrary requirements.
The current pay range also "figures immensely" into the current dearth of officers. While he says some towns are offering $16 an hour for a starting position, Gardner notes that McDonald's offers $15 for an entry-level position. Police officers, though, have to undergo rigorous training to become certified, and he notes it's "one of the few professions where one can take someone's life in the course of duty." He adds, "But you only get paid $16 an hour."
Gardner also points to the "national drumbeat" about "every cop is corrupt," and he argues that officer misconduct is sensationalized in the media. "Who wants to be a part of this profession now?" he asks, although he notes that rural Maine has not yet taken up the "cause du jour."
Crabtree agrees that the difficulties in recruiting new officers are related to pay and also to "all the negative connotations surrounding police" throughout the country. "There are not many wanting to get into the profession," he says. Also, departments in Washington County "have to contend with the larger police departments. We have to convince people to bypass" larger communities like Bangor to come to a rural part of the state that has economic and rural policing issues.
"The reality is we're getting ready to fall off a cliff," Gardner says. A generation of older officers is getting ready to retire, but "we weren't backfilling that generation. There is a storm out on the horizon that we can't even begin to understand yet. I'm very fearful of that."
The county has been making continual investments in law enforcement, but there is a need not only for deputies but also corrections officers and dispatchers. "We've taken them for granted," he says. "We've devalued the profession. It's only when we realize we made a mistake, it's too late to fix it."
The county did add more deputies three years ago to help combat drug-related crime, although Gardner says that "people growled" that the county was just trying to raise their taxes.
Another frustration has been the change that has happened in the criminal justice system, with fewer cases going to trial. According to Gardner there are five courtrooms in the county but only 1 1/2 judges. He says law enforcement is now referred to as "catch and release" as "the criminals are out of jail before the cops are. We take them to jail and take them in the back door and they walk out the front door." Plea deals are now the norm, which Gardner attributes in part to the state's change in probation laws, since it didn't want to fund so many probation officers. For crimes like assault or theft, for which probation is no longer an option, the only tools to hold offenders to account is to "put them in jail or give them a fine," he says. Defense attorneys push for jury trials, and then the district attorney's office will make a plea deal to help clear the high number of cases.
Those advocating for the legislative proposal to create a separate district attorney for Washington County believe the change would help reduce the caseload carried by prosecutors, possibly lead to fewer plea deals and provide greater access to justice for those facing charges. The legislative bill has been approved but is currently stalled after not being moved forward on the last day of the legislative session in July.
Efforts to address issue As for how to address the different issues, Gardner says the first step is to retain the officers who are currently working. He notes that the county recently lost a good officer when "he realized he could make more money swinging a hammer" than being a deputy. Pay needs to be raised, as it's "a high-stress, high burn-out job," Gardner says, noting that there were some nights when he was on duty when "I've done more in two hours than would drain me in 40 hours" of a regular work week. With the current shortage of officers, those who are working are stretched even thinner to cover the large county. In addition, state police coverage has dropped significantly in the county. "There were 12 troopers assigned to the county when I started," he says. "Now there's maybe a third of that." Even if more new officers are hired, he notes there will be a loss of experience as longtime veterans retire.
Gardner says that those who are trying to address the issue have realized they "need to start attracting people in" to the profession. To help with that effort, the St. Croix Regional Technical Center (SCRTC) in Calais is now offering a course in criminal justice and law enforcement, taught by Dale Earle, an officer who served for two years as Eastport police chief from 2015 to 2017. Calais School Department Superintendent Ron Jenkins and SCRTC Director Stanley Sluzenski had been considering a year ago possible new offerings at the technical center, which students from Calais, Eastport and Woodland high schools attend. They surveyed students, with more indicating an interest in criminal justice than cosmetology, which was considered as another possible offering. "I think some of the students may become officers in the county," Jenkins says, although he notes that the course can also lead to careers in other fields that involve criminal justice.
In addition, Washington County Community College offers an associate's degree in criminal justice to prepare graduates for entry level positions relevant to law enforcement. Crabtree says the sheriff's department is grateful that those courses are being offered. "We hope they get some who are living in the area interested in a career path in law enforcement. It's a good step in the right direction." He adds that the sheriff's department will start making more of an effort to speak with students in those courses about the benefits of working in law enforcement.