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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.