ISLAND FALLS, Maine — The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department has a new substation to call home. Thanks to town officials in Island Falls, the town and Sheriff’s Department have agreed to share space at the Island Falls Municipal Building.
“Our deputies all work out of their vehicles for the most part,” Chief Deputy Darrell Crandall said. “We have established offices in Houlton, Caribou and Fort Kent. But each of those towns have their own organized police departments, so we don’t spend a lot of time in those locations.”
The first substation was opened a few months ago at the Mars Hill town office. That location proved to be a good middle location for deputies traveling between Houlton and Caribou. Shortly after that, Eagle Lake expressed interest, followed by one in Grand Isle.
“We have patrol zones and normally we have things split into four zones,” Crandall said. “These substations fit into the center of our patrol zones, so they are ideal.”
In offering to be a substation, towns agree to devote some space, usually in the form of a desk, in some part of their town office. Most of the police vehicles are equipped to conduct all manner of work from inside, including a working laptop computer to process reports.
Occasionally, though, an officer needs desk space to spread out accident reports for review or might need to sit down with an individual. While that work could be done inside a police cruiser, it is not always the most comfortable arrangement.
Island Falls Town Manager Dave Dionne said the agreement came about when a Sheriff’s deputy stopped into the office one day looking for some information.
“I happened to jokingly mention to them about the arrangement they had in Mars Hill and how great it would be to have their presence here in Island Falls,” Dionne said. “The deputy went back to Chief Deputy Crandall and he and I got together and it ended up being a good deal for the Sheriff’s office and the town.”
Some of the benefits are that the town will now have a local presence of officers in town and it will give deputies another place from which to operate.
Crandall said the Island Falls location is central for their southern area so that will be good for response time. It may also cut down on the amount of gas used by sheriff’s deputies, who will no longer need to sit inside an idling car in the winter time while filling out paperwork.
“It also benefits the town because whenever an officer is there during regular office hours, they can be there to assist the town,” Crandall added. “It’s mutually beneficial.”
