JAY – Three candidates for Franklin County sheriff agreed Friday night that overcrowding at the county jail is one of the most pressing issues facing the next sheriff.
Sheriff Dennis Pike and challengers Albert Smith of Wilton and Tom White II of Jay participated in a debate before nearly 40 people at Jay Middle School. High school civics teacher Mike Simoneau was moderator.
Pike said the jail is certified for 29 inmates and averages 35 daily. One day last July there were 49, he said.
White said the overcrowding didn’t happen overnight and could have been anticipated. The jail is working at the same staffing levels it has had since 1983, he said. Many of the inmates do not need a maximum security facility, which the jail is, and he proposed building a minimum security facility on the property to house such inmates.
Having just undergone the first round of the county budget process, Pike said that inflation and energy costs are taking a toll on the department’s budget. The proposed total budget for 2005 is $2,359,000 with the largest portion of that going to the department of corrections, or $1,016,000. If the budget passes, two additional full-time corrections officers will be hired.
Smith said with only three officers working with 30 to 40 inmates in the jail, there is a safety issue. He said he thinks youth programs are the answer.
“Youth are the future of tomorrow,” he said, adding he’d like to see more school programs to “get through to kids before they end up on the wrong track.”
All the men said they were concerned about a lack of staffing, particularly if the Palesky property tax cap passes Nov. 2.
However, they were also unanimous in their opinions about the success of resource-sharing programs among municipal, state and county law enforcement agencies.
“We all work together,” Smith said. “I’d like to see more done,” adding that information on a known suspect should be shared with all area departments.
White told of his formation of the Western Maine Criminal Intelligence Task Force in 1998 which is still active. The task force assists area departments in five counties with the formal transfer of information about crimes and the people committing them, he said.
“We have excellent rapport with our sister agencies,” said Pike. With so few law enforcement agents in such a large geographical area, “we need each other,” he said.
Pike also warned attendees about the probable impact if the Palesky tax-cap referendum. In addition to the Sheriff’s Department, the county has five municipal police forces – Jay, Wilton, Farmington, Carrabassett Valley and Rangeley. If the referendum passes, two of those departments could be completely abolished while the other three would suffer severe cutbacks, he said.
Throughout the debate, the three officers commended each other on various counts. All agreed that the employees of the department are its greatest asset.
White pointed to the recent election of two of the county’s deputies to class president while attending the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, Deputy Stephen Charles having been elected just this week. Deputy David Rackliffe had been elected by the previous class of cadets.
“A chief is only as effective as his staff,” agreed Pike, commending White and Smith as examples.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
