York County Jail is continuing to recruit corrections staff – and an encounter on the campaign trail between two people running for two different offices , as members of two different parties – began a conversation that is producing applications. Tammy Wells photo
ALFRED – A Biddeford pastor with a background in criminal justice and a link to a Florida college had a conversation with York County Sheriff Bill King about the county’s need for corrections officers while on the campaign trail in 2022.
King was running for his third term as sheriff. David Corbett was running for a seat in the Maine senate. After they marched in a parade, the two men, who are on different sides of the political aisle – King is a Democrat and Corbett a Republican – began talking about corrections.
As of mid-March, the jail had 33 corrections staff vacancies of a total of about 75 positions.
King won his race; Corbett did not – and the two continued to talk about corrections.
The conversation led to a presentation by Corbett to those about to graduate from the criminal justice program at Pensacola Christian College, which he taught for 13 years before retiring, and as a result, about 6-8 applications made their way to King’s desk in Alfred.
David Corbett Courtesy photo
“He was telling me about the need for corrections officers and I was talking about the neat criminal justice program,” said Corbett, who pastors at Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Biddeford. He continues to winter in the Pensacola area and keeps in close touch with the college.
“I thought maybe if we inquired, we would find some people,” said Corbett, who began his career in criminal justice as a police officer in Saco, He later joined York County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked as a road deputy, in corrections and in the transport decision under former sheriffs Richard D. Dutremble and Wes Phinney. He made two unsuccessful bids for sheriff – against Phinney and later against Maurice Ouellette.
Corbett said moving to the northeast would be a big change for those applying – they hail from southern states, or Texas, or New Mexico. “I trying to show them qualities of Maine and some people are saying “I’m coming,” he said.
York County Sheriff William King Courtesy photo
King said he’s glad of Corbett’s offer to help.
“Rev. David Corbett is a big supporter of law enforcement,” ” said King. “During our many conversations, he has steered people my way. When he went to Florida, he seized an opportunity to recruit there. “
King and others in York County government have been working to fill vacancies and have been making some progress – there has been an uptick in interest and applications, county officials have recently said. A contract inked in 2021 increased the starting wage to about $21.30 an hour, which includes an automatic $3 per hour premium, and more with shift differentials and a sign-on bonus.
Applicants who are hired earn a paycheck while attending a five-week basic training program at Maine Corrections Center in Windham, provided at county expense. Once they have graduated, they are assigned to work with an experienced corrections officer for a minimum of three weeks before working on their own.
Because of staffing shortages that have persisted over the last several years, some inmates who would usually be housed at York County Jail have been housed at Cumberland County Jail instead. Both counties are looking to hire corrections staff – as are sheriffs departments and state prisons across Maine and the country.
King said jail staff and other county staff have visited technical schools across the region, participate in career fairs, take part in community events, and are following legislation submitted by Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sen. Susan Collins that could reduce required wait times currently in place for asylum seekers to receive a work permit. The county has placed ads on area movie theater screens in a bid to attract corrections officers.
As well, the sheriff said, when people apply to become a road deputy within the sheriff’s office but there are no current vacancies, they are offered positions in corrections – and the sheriff’s office has encouraged municipal police chiefs to also make similar referrals.
King said Corbett’s efforts to help recruit corrections staff is welcome, and humbling.
“We appreciate his efforts,” King said.
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