AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine (WAGM) -
Since an outbreak of Covid at the County Jail has prevented any new intakes, police departments in Aroostook have been faced with logistical concerns. Issues include staffing and where individuals will be detained, to transportation costs to other facilities. Kathy McCarty has more.
Several County police departments have holding cells, but not all are being used for such a purpose. Chief Laurie Kelly says staffing limitations are why she’s working with the courts to process individuals as quickly as possible.
“We’ve been working with the D.A.’s office and Caribou and the courts to get - if we have somebody that absolutely has to go to jail, you know, for whatever reasons, then we’ve arranged that if we have to, just to sit with them one-on-one and actually take them right to arraignment. So they’re going to be doing arraignments in Caribou I think every day at 11:30 during the - during the week,” says Chief Laurie Kelly, of the Presque Isle Police Department.
To hold a prisoner, facilities must be certified by the state. Lt. Jamie Pelletier says while the Madawaska Police Department can detain someone for up to 72 hours, it often makes more sense to transport them elsewhere.
“We can’t put a person in the cell and just leave them. Somebody has to be there. We have to complete a log every 15 minutes. You know, we have to - have to log down the time and what they’re doing, you know, if they’re sleeping or if they’re eating or if they’re using the bathroom or whatever. But yeah, it comes down to staffing for us too. So if you’re gonna call an officer to come in to sit and watch a prisoner, you know, if the road conditions are good and they’re feeling up to it, you might as well just call ‘em in to transport them,” says Lt. Jamie Pelletier, of the Madawaska Police Department.
With the County Jail not able to accept new prisoners, County police departments are now having to drive much longer distances. The nearest jails accepting intakes are facilities in Kennebec and Knox counties. Chief Tom Pelletier says transporting to Houlton was hard enough, now the challenge is even greater.
“We are constantly struggling with being able to transport prisoners, having to have extra people come in to be able to do that and have somebody cover our calls while we’re in town. We - we - as we know, Houlton is - is a 200-mile round trip. And then with processing and all that, we’re talking all of a five-hour trip,” says Chief Tom Pelletier, of the Fort Kent Police Department.
Chief Pelletier says Covid is here but so is interest in public safety. And despite the challenges, departments will do what they must, including driving long distances, if someone needs to go to jail. Kathy McCarty, NewsSource 8
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April 01, 2021 at 06:28AM
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Temporary jail shutdown stretching local departments' resources - WAGM
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