MACHIAS, Maine — Washington County Sheriff Barry Curtis said residents need to get involved if they want to solve the county’s drug problem.
Speaking to the Machias Rotary Club May 19, Curtis provided an update of his first five months in office. While answering questions from the audience, the conversation turned to drugs.
Every crime is somehow related to drugs and solving these crimes is not just a police issue, it’s a community issue, Curtis said
“We need to start paying attention to each other and get involved,” he said.
Getting involved means residents need to watch out for each other and call 911 when they see or hear something suspicious. It’s not enough to just call police to report a crime and then hang up without giving details. Residents should give additional information such as how many people are involved, where the crime is taking place or took place, whether there’s a vehicle involved and any available details about that vehicle, Curtis said.
Residents also should not turn their heads when a family member commits a crime, he said.
He said a frustrating number of investigations reveal that thefts have been committed by the victim’s family members. Then the victim decides not to press charges, a path Curtis does not endorse.
“You’re just enabling them,” he said.
Residents should also call police rather than taking the law into their own hands. He cited a case in which a woman came home to find her daughter and two other people doing cocaine on her table.
“She actually whooped on the two of them,” Curtis said. One of them was a man. “When the police got there, he was quivering.”
The woman, unfortunately, was charged with assault.
“She should have made the phone call [to police],” he said. “We’re really encouraging everybody to give us a call.”
In order to more effectively deal with drugs and related crimes, Curtis said he needs more staff.
Currently, Curtis and Chief Deputy Michael Crabtree have nine deputies.
“I’d like to have more,” he said.
Washington County is the size of Rhode Island, with a population equivalent to the city of Bangor, Curtis said.
“I’ve got a skeleton crew. It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.
With the staffing it has, the sheriff’s department must prioritize where it will concentrate its efforts.
“We’ll never, ever get rid of all the drugs here,” he said.
Curtis also answered questions about other aspects of his role he assumed in January.
Generally speaking, Curtis will not respond to 911 calls.
“I’ll be on some of the bigger cases [but] for the most part I’ll be stuck behind a desk,” he said.
He did respond to a recent fatal motor vehicle crash in Wesley and, while wearing a tie, ended up directing traffic. One motorist from Canada asked who he was. When Curtis replied he was the Washington County sheriff, the motorist said, “Do you always direct traffic dressed like that?” Curtis said.
Local police are usually the ones who respond to 911 calls if the caller lives in their area. For those who don’t live in an area with local police, either a sheriff’s deputy or state police officer will respond, depending on who’s closer and available, he said.
Curtis said he is still learning about the job.
“I haven’t even learned where all the keys on my keyring go,” he quipped.
He said he is enjoying the work.
“I actually like the challenge,” he said. “It’s a lot different from what I did for 25 years with the Maine State Police.”