Police offer an overview of PIPD: Part I

This is part one of a multipart series. Part one will describe what your police department has for staffing, facility and equipment. Other installments will describe the Uniform Crime Report and what it means for our community and what we as a department are doing to prevent crime and what you can do to help.
    Currently the Presque Isle Police Department has 19 full-time police officers, which include the chief, four patrol sergeants, one detective sergeant, one patrol detective and 12 patrol officers. The PIPD also employs two full-time dispatchers, a 30-hour-per-week parking enforcement officer, a 25-hour-per-week animal control officer, one part-time custodian, a full-time administrative assistant, a 25-hour-per-week court records administrator and four school crossing guards.
The department strives to keep a full staff of highly professional, proficient and qualified personnel. Keeping our standards high and conducting specific and scenario-based interviews with the applicants does this. Applicants must also follow certain guidelines before they are even considered, such as being at least 21 years of age, having the 100-hour law enforcement course and being state-certified. Having a degree in criminal justice is strongly encouraged. We do this to ensure the highest quality of service that we can offer to our citizens and community and for the safety of our officers.
The current cost of hiring an officer and sending them to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for the 18-week training ourselves is approximately $26,000 to $27,000. The cost for our department to buy an officer from another department within the first year after graduating from the academy is $28,215; second year is $22,572; year three, $16,929; year four, $11,286; and year five, $5,643 – figures set by law. If one of our officers goes to another law enforcement agency within the state, we would receive the same amount. We are unable to bill if they are hired by a federal law enforcement agency.
Sergeants and officers currently work a 10-hour shift. Over the years, we have tried other hourly shift work but the 10-hour shift seems to best fit our needs and the city’s needs best for several reasons:
• The 10-hour shift allows for an overlap of the swing shift (5 p.m. to 3 a.m.) and the night shift (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.)  – 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. is usually the department’s busiest time in regards to handling complaints such as domestic violence calls, OUI and other criminal traffic offenses, fights, noise complaints, etc. The overlap (unless the shifts are extremely short-handed) allows for more than one officer to respond to the more serious calls while still leaving coverage on the road for subsequent complaints;
• When personnel are out sick, on light duty or away from their regular schedule due to training, vacation, holiday or bereavement, the schedule is very manageable in that people can be changed from one shift to another in order to alleviate or decrease overtime paid;
• The schedule can be done years in advance giving both personnel and administration the opportunity to plan ahead for scheduled training or absences;
• Officers’ days of the week off may change from week to week giving them no less than three but as many as four, five or six days off in a row. Other than overtime, officers do not work more than 60 hours in a row. This work schedule allows officers enough ‘down time’ that we currently see less burnout and abuse of sick time that was evident with other schedules;
• Officers work a month (give or take a few days) of a particular shift at a time on our current schedule, again, giving them time to acclimate to the shift they are currently working. This is medically and statistically better for a person’s health than shifting more frequently; and
• Sergeants change shift weekly with one long weekend within a month’s time. This allows for almost every shift having a ranking supervisor available.
In keeping with the increasing complexity of laws and legal demands in this increasing litigious society, your department has the capability of audiovisual equipment in the interview and interrogation rooms and jail, not to mention the in-car cruiser cameras and even cameras in the Taser non-lethal weaponry.
Vehicles have changed as well, with functional cruisers equipped with four-wheel drive to handle the region’s needs during inclement weather, especially given the 78 square mile increase in rural area patrol and response.
Over the past few years the Communications Division of the PIPD has made great strides in enhancing our technological foundation. Many of these enhancements and additions were thanks to funding from Homeland Security. These projects include:
• Digital Call Logger from Digital Loggers, Inc. of Santa Clara, Cali. (www.digital-loggers.com). The unit is capable of recording 24 lines of telephone, radio and intercom voice communications simultaneously. The unit is fully networked and is accessible from any computer with a sound card and speakers on the LAN. Deployed and in continuous use since January of 2005, the Logger is currently at about 60 percent of its storage capacity;
• Intellex digital video recorder to provide continuous recording (motion sensitive recording) of the department’s video security system. This system is also networked and camera footage can be retrieved from any computer on the LAN;
• Kantech card access system to replace the failed proprietary system that had been in use since the building became occupied in 2001. Kantech’s system is not proprietary and much more user friendly. This system maintains door security throughout the department;
• Access to the Intellex security camera system at the Northern Maine Regional Airport. The dispatcher can pull up the security cameras at the airport and view what is going on; and
• Acquiring and deploying laptop computers in the patrol vehicles. We now have three laptops that are capable of accessing the METRO System to query Bureau of Motor Vehicle records, National Crime Information Center and State Bureau of Identification databases.
The department’s vehicle fleet currently consists of 12 vehicles. There are three patrol cars, two four-wheel drive vehicles, two cruisers set up for the department’s canines, two unmarked cruisers, a parking enforcement vehicle, an animal control vehicle and a Chevrolet Camaro that was seized from a local drug dealer.
The three patrol cars that are used for everyday patrol are on the road 24/7 and average 43,000 miles a year. The two four-wheel drive vehicles are used mostly in the winter during inclement weather and for traveling in areas where a patrol car cannot go. The four-wheel drive pickup truck is also used to transport the department’s ATV as well as transport items too large to fit in the trunk of a car, such as bicycles. The two canine cruisers are set up with kennels in the back instead of a back seat. The canine officers use the canine cruisers when they are working or can be used as a spare car when needed. Each of the previously mentioned cruisers is black and white in color and adorned with department decals. Each vehicle is equipped with emergency lights, sirens and two-way radios, as well as traffic radar for speed enforcement.  Three of the vehicles are also equipped with in-car video camera systems that record both audio and video of traffic stops and investigations. Four of the vehicles have Stinger spike mats (tire-deflating devices) that are used to end high-speed chases or fleeing vehicles. The Stinger spike mat is spread out across a roadway and contains numerous spikes that are hollow. When these spikes puncture a tire, the air slowly leaves the tire through the hollow spikes, allowing the vehicle to slowly come to a stop.
The two unmarked cruisers are black in color. One of these vehicles is used by the chief of police and is also used by officers when they have to travel out of town for training or other purposes. The other vehicle is assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division and used by the detectives. This vehicle is also equipped with emergency lights and siren and can be used for traffic enforcement but has a stealth effect because it is not as noticeable as a black and white police car. Both of these unmarked police cars were black and white at one time and were primary patrol vehicles. Once the patrol cars have been on the road for two years, they are painted black and used by the chief and detectives.
The animal control car and parking enforcement car were also previously used as patrol cars. Both cars remain black and white in color and are properly marked. The animal control car also has a kennel area in the back seat to allow for safe transport of animals.
The 1988 Chevrolet Camaro IROC was seized from a local drug dealer after a high-speed chase that Presque Isle officers had with the operator. When the owner was found guilty of drug charges, the vehicle was forfeited. The Camaro is equipped with emergency lights and traffic radar. It is currently used for traffic enforcement and travel during summer months. The Camaro has a vanity license plate ‘SEIZED,’ letting the public know how the car was acquired. The car is very popular with kids because it is a bright red sports car.
The PIPD currently purchases two new cruisers a year. Once a patrol car has reached approximate 80,000 miles, a new one replaces it. The used cruiser is converted to an unmarked car, animal control car or parking enforcement car. When one of those cars is replaced, the old one is sold. A bid process sells the old cars. Companies that refurbish them for taxis or even for movies or TV shows have bought some of our old cruisers. The money that is made from the sale of the old cruisers goes back into the account for purchasing new cruisers the following year. On average, the city gets approximately $2,500 per used car.
Along with the cruisers, the department has a Kawasaki Mule all-terrain vehicle that is used to patrol the many miles of ATV trails in the Star City. The department also has a bicycle patrol unit that patrols the bicycle path, downtown area and the fairgrounds during the Northern Maine Fair.
The PIPD currently has two canine teams. The department’s first canine is a bloodhound named Hunter and his handlers are Officers Kevin Schumacher and Jeffrey Mechalko. Hunter’s primary function is to track and find people, either missing or suspects in criminal activity. Hunter has been known to be able to complete a track as old as seven days.
The department’s newest canine team is a 16-month-old Black Lab named Dozer and his handler, Officer Robert Thibeault. Dozer’s primary function is the detection of illegal drugs. Both Dozer and Hunter are valuable assets to the department and serve as strong deterrents to criminals because of their abilities.
Each sworn officer is issued all of their uniforms and personal equipment by the department. Each officer currently carries a Glock model 21 .45 caliber firearm. Each Glock holds a magazine with 13 rounds of ammunition (plus one in the chamber). Every officer carries two spare magazines, for a total of 40 rounds of ammunition. For non-lethal weapons, officers are issued pepper spray and/or a Taser (electro-muscular disruption device). The department currently has three Tasers and one of those Tasers has a Tasercam. The Tasercam records both video and audio when the Taser is used. Officers also are given a personal two-way radio that allows them to communicate while away from the cruiser or when they are off duty.