With populations in greater Portland steadily increasing, local police chiefs say they need more officers to serve their growing towns and cities.
In Gorham, Police Chief Ron Shepard is asking the town council for additional money in the town’s budget to hire two more officers.
The situation isn’t limited just to Gorham. In Buxton, Police Chief Jody Thomas is asking for one additional officer to beef up the town’s force, and Westbrook Police Chief Paul McCarthy said his department is now one officer short.
To keep pace with a growing town, Shepard said in an interview this week he needs two more policemen, an expense he hopes is included in the town’s final budget. “You’ve got to grow as the community grows,” Shepard said.
Gorham now has 21 officers including Shepard, Lt. Chris Sanborn, three sergeants, 11 patrol officers, two detectives, two school resource officers and one combination animal control and traffic officer.
Based on an estimated population for Gorham of 15,145, Shepard said Gorham has about 1.4 officers for every 1,000 people in the town.
Shepard said that figure is below the Cumberland County average of 1.8 officers per 1,000 people. Even with two more officers on the force, Shepard said Gorham would have 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, a figure that would still be under the county average.
Gorham’s 11 patrol officers are divided over three shifts, Shepard said. Three officers are on duty from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The 4:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. shift is also staffed by three officers, and during the overnight shift from 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., two officers are on duty. “Eleven over three shifts is not a lot of people,” Shepard said.
Because of vacations, sick leave and training, the force is usually short one person most of the time. “We’ve been asked to do more with less,” said Sanborn.
Last year, Gorham police had approximately 17,000 calls for service. Officers made 353 arrests and issued 3,168 summonses and warnings. In addition, Gorham officers responded to 668 motor vehicle accidents. “You don’t want to be so short handed that you can’t respond to what people expect,” Shepard said.
With the number of crimes in Gorham on the increase, Shepard said the department needs more officers to adequately protect the town and its residents. “We just want to be able to keep up with growth,” he said.
Starting pay for an officer in Gorham is $15.63 per hour and officers reach top pay in two years, Shepard said. When Gorham has needed to fill an officer’s position, Shepard said they’ve never had difficulty hiring a qualified officer.
In Buxton, Thomas hopes the town’s next budget would provide the money to allow her to hire one more officer. Including Thomas, Buxton now has nine full time officers with another six part time officers.
Including both the full time and part time officers, Buxton has 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents, matching the county average.
She’s hoping to hire an officer to fill a position as a combination chief’s assistant and court officer. Adding that position would free other officers for patrolling, Thomas said.
In Westbrook, McCarthy said his department has 34 authorized positions, but only 33 of them are currently filled. The Westbrook force includes a court officer, two school resource officers and four detectives as well as 22 patrol officers, double the number serving on the Gorham force.
Westbrook’s 33-member police force accounts for about 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, which is slightly higher than the county average.
McCarthy said the Westbrook budget doesn’t any money for hiring additional officers this year. But there’s always a need for more, he said.
Joyce Benson at the Maine Planning Office in Augusta said according to 2004 population estimates for the three communities Westbrook had 16,004 residents; Gorham, 15,145 residents; and Buxton, 8,062 residents.
Gorham police have the largest geographic area of the three towns to patrol. Gorham contains 49.9 square miles; Buxton, 41.1 square miles; and Westbrook, 12.8 square miles, but has a greater population density.
Gorham’s budget hearing, which includes the request for additional police officers, is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, at Gorham High School.
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