WASHBURN, Maine — In Aroostook County, small towns are struggling to maintain their police departments. Difficulty recruiting and aging forces are forcing some municipalities to consider disbanding their police.
In June, Washburn residents voted to do just that, adding another town to a growing list shuttering their police service.
For four years, Cyr Martin served as police chief for Washburn and nearby Ashland. He said having Washburn on his plate was too much to manage while still delivering the best service, but leaving was not easy.
"I knew that if I would leave, it would probably end up that the department would close. So, I kinda hung on as long as I could," he said.
Martin's departure was not a surprise. Donna Turner, Washburn’s town manager, had been searching for a replacement, but when Martin left, there was no one to take over. That left Turner and the town council few options.
"We decided to put it up to a vote, and it was pretty one-sided to close the department," Turner said.
In 2021, Van Buren was faced with the same issue. Luke Dyer was the last officer standing before his department was closed. He describes the experience at the end as "horrible."
"We were working 48-hour shifts, 48 hours in a row. And you cannot function like that," Dyer said. "It's impossible."
After 30 years of police service, Dyer now serves Van Buren as the town manager. His town, and all others with defunct police forces, now rely on the county sheriffs and state troopers.
"To no fault of their own, they are never going to be what a local police department was," Dyer said.
This is a reality that Lt. Brian Harris accepts. His contingent of troopers is half what he'd like it to be, calling serving the area "a balancing act."
Adding more towns to his troopers' plates has not been easy. But Harris is hopeful with some new recruits coming up from the academy.
However, part of the staffing issue is the time needed to recruit, verify, and train a new officer. With the process easily taking a year, Harris and other law enforcement officials have a built-in buffer period that makes operations difficult.
Martin, retiring from Ashland police at the end of the year, is concerned that his department will join the growing list of disbanded forces. He feels that towns need to pool resources to keep local services.
"Regionalization is going to have to come into effect. Small communities are going to have to share police and other departments in order to get by," Martin said.