BANGOR, Maine — A joint operation involving federal, state, county and local law enforcement officers yielded 22 arrests on Thursday in Somerset County, according to the Maine State Police.
The purpose of the effort — dubbed Operation Long Arm — was to conduct bail and probation checks, to make warrant arrests and to conduct checks on registered sex offenders living in Somerset County.
The plan was based on previous operations in southern and central Maine, where agencies have joined forces and positively affected specific geographic areas, Maine State Police Lt. Mark Brooks said Friday.
By combining efforts in Somerset County, law enforcement and probation officers were able to make contact with more than 150 people, 22 of whom were arrested, Brooks said, adding that arrests were made in the towns of Pittsfield, Fairfield, Madison and Skowhegan.
All of those arrested were taken to Somerset County Jail.
According to Brooks, law enforcement and probation officers met over four months to plan Operation Long Arm. Every law enforcement agency in Somerset County committed resources to the effort and local officials in each town were contacted and informed that the operation would be conducted sometime during the summer.
During the planning phase, officers focused on making sure that they could make contact with as many people as they could who were on probation, out on bail, had an active warrant or were registered as sex offenders.
The agencies that participated in Operation Long Arm were the Pittsfield, Skowhegan, Fairfield and Madison police departments, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine State Police, state Department of Corrections, the Maine Warden Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Somerset County Communications Center.