ROCKLAND, Maine — Rockland saw a dramatic drop in crimes last year, but neighboring Thomaston saw a proportional spike, which both police chiefs acknowledge is due to the relocation of retail giant Wal-Mart.
And the spike has put a strain on the smaller Thomaston Police Department.
Rockland saw the frequency of crimes drop to its lowest level on record during 2014. While there was a drop in most categories, the steepest decline came in the larceny category. Rockland Police Chief Bruce Boucher said that is due, in large part, to Wal-Mart no longer being in the city.
Wal-Mart opened its Supercenter in Thomaston in mid-October 2013, closing the Rockland department store.
The number of reported larcenies in Rockland fell from 282 in 2012 to 202 in 2013 and a record low of 169 in 2014.
Thomaston Police Chief Kevin Haj said his department has seen a sharp increase in not only theft complaints but domestic disputes, medical calls and fender benders at the Wal-Mart.
The department handled 92 theft complaints at Walmart in 2014.
Thomaston has four full-time officers, including the chief, as well as three reserve officers.
Haj said when an impact study was being developed for the town in 2011 to assist the planning board in its review of the proposed Wal-Mart project, he asked for an additional two full-time patrol officers. In the end, he got no additional officers.
The chief said a single theft case can take up a lot of an officer’s time. If the person is on probation or has multiple prior thefts, they will likely be arrested and taken to the Knox County Jail in Rockland rather than issued a summons. Then there will be paperwork to be done and court hearings that officers will have to attend.
“There are a lot of little things that are time-consuming and resource-consuming,” Haj said about many of the calls to Wal-Mart.
He acknowledged that the store had generated considerable additional revenue for the town. Thomaston has seen its property taxes drop for the past two years as the northern end of town along Route 1, near the Rockland town line, has seen significant commercial development.
The Supercenter is valued at $16.6 million and the company paid more than $276,000 to the town in property taxes.
Rockland Chief Boucher said while the departure of Wal-Mart reduced the number of crimes handled by the city department, other factors have contributed to Rockland’s decline and it becoming one of the safer cities in the state.
The overall number of crimes — included in national uniform crime reporting system — in Rockland fell to a record low 203 in 2014. This is down from 248 in 2013, 328 in 2012, 366 in 2011 and 427 in 2010. The crimes included in the uniform reports include rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, stolen motor vehicles and arson.
The most crimes recorded in Rockland since the uniform crime reports were mandated in 1973 was in 1980, when the city reported 749 offenses.
The chief said the department works closely with landlords to assist them when they are checking out potential tenants. He said for government subsidized housing, the department will provide information on whether applicants have drug convictions, which could bar those people from moving in to those residences.
The department also does considerably more sharing of information with other departments across the state as well as the local Maine Drug Enforcement Agency office, the chief said, and this has led to quicker apprehension of suspects before more offenses can be committed.
And, he concluded, Rockland has an excellent, well-trained crew of officers who are doing their jobs.