Commissioners split on law enforcement accreditation
ELLSWORTH – The Hancock County Commissioners Tuesday in a split vote authorized Sheriff Scott Kane to proceed with an accreditation program for his department.
Kane initially pitched the program to the board in March.
“All of our policies are evaluated,” Kane said at the March 16 meeting. “If there are any policies we don’t have, we add those and meet the standards.”
Commissioners John Wombacher and Paul Paradis voted in favor. Chairman Bill Clark voted against.
The program is overseen by Dirigo Safety, which is an Auburn business that offers law enforcement training as well as workplace safety training. Dirigo Executive Vice President Shawn O’Leary, himself a former police officer, attended the meeting, which was held via online conference platform Zoom due to the pandemic.
Alcohol Misuse Prevention in Maine?
Alcohol is the most widely misused substance in Maine by youth and adults. It remains one of our priorities to educate caregivers with the reasons not to provide alcohol to youth, to teach youth healthy alternatives for socialization and stress management, and to help the community understand how and why youth access to alcohol should be limited. When it comes to alcoholic drinks, the size and amount of alcohol included varies widely, and means that one glassful can equal several servings of alcohol. When deciding to only drink a certain number of drinks in an evening, you should know how many “drinks” are in your glass! One beer can is generally 5% alcohol – so one “drink” would be one 12 oz beer. One shot of liquor – 1.5 oz – is equal to one drink. One mixed drink, assuming it has just one shot of liquor, is also 1.5 oz of alcohol and is equal to one drink.
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REGION In recent years recruitment and retention for police departments in Maine and across the U.S. has become more and more of a challenge. In Franklin and Oxford counties, local forces have fared a little better than more urban communities. But the pandemic has stalled high school and college law enforcement education, as well as the residential certifications sessions held twice a year at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.
The academy’s programming remained in limbo for months as public gathering and social distancing restrictions made it impossible to operate. Some classes were able to continue using Zoom and other virtual technology. But practical police training must be hands-on and as real to life as possible.