CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou Police Department faces countless uncertainties and changes in the coming year. Chief Michael Gahagan said earlier this week that he is prepared to “face 2017 head on” while acknowledging that each day can bring the unexpected.
With recreational marijuana passing in Maine, officers in the department will have tp undergo training that helps them detect a certain level of impairment that deems individuals unfit to drive under the influence of pot. The state of Maine is already allocating funding for this training.
According to Gahagan, it will be much more difficult to determine if someone is under the influence of marijuana as opposed to alcohol.
Other changes include a recent requirement for officers to carry tasers and wear bulletproof vests, and Caribou officers will soon wear body cameras while on duty.
The police station will undergo renovations in early 2017 and a weekly professional cleaning crew will help remedy clutter that has built up as a result of additional equipment and archiving requirements.
The Chief says that, in recent years, social media caused some of the department’s most significant changes.
“Social media has been a big game-changer,” Gahagan said. “We understand its value and can distribute information far more quickly than if we used radio, television, or print. We also monitor social media and have the ability to prevent crimes before they happen.”
“If we hear through Facebook that an illegal pit party is going to take place, we can get there before it happens, which is easier than getting four or five officers to take care of a couple hundred people after the party starts,” the chief continued.
Gahagan says bail violations were likely the most common crime in 2016.
“We deal with about 15 percent of Caribou’s population,” Gahagan said, “and many are repeat offenders that we deal with all the time. Of that percentage, I’ve dealt with grandfathers, fathers, and kids from the same family during my time with the Caribou PD.”
Caribou Police have also had issues with staffing. When a couple officers recently retired from the department, they went eight months without receiving a single application.
“I don’t think we’re unique in dealing with this,” Gahagan said. “As you see in society now, law enforcement is not a profession a lot of people are going into. Right now we’re fully staffed and we have two individuals planning to attend their 18-week training at the Academy next year.”
Roughly one third of Caribou’s police officers have less than five years of experience, another third has more than 20 years, and the rest are somewhere in-between. To best utilize his staff, Gahagan will often blend seasoned officers with younger ones so they can benefit from their knowledge and experience on the job.
While Gahagan says the department could always use more people, he’s happy with what he has been given.
The chief added that a misconception about his department is that they have too many officers.
“Statistically we’re right on track with the national average for a community of our size when it comes to staffing,” Gahagan said.
Caribou’s Police Chief concluded by saying that his department’s collaboration with the community, whether it’s through social media or otherwise, will help them face the future’s challenges.
“As long as we have local collaboration, we’ll meet 2017 head on,” Gahagan said. “We can’t do it without their support; we’re all in this together.”
