LEWISTON, Maine — The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department announced on Monday another successfully completed Alternative Sentencing Program.
The most recent session, which ended on Aug. 21, was done in conjunction with the Lewiston School Department, Chief Deputy William Gagne said in a news release.
The Alternative Sentencing Program allows people who have committed nonviolent misdemeanor crimes to do community service rather than spending their incarceration in a correctional facility, Gagne said.
“This allows the participants to make a contribution back to the community while giving the community time to do work around schools and other nonprofit organizations as well as receive information and listen to guest speakers during their stay,” Gagne said.
It also helps correctional facilities such as the Androscoggin County Jail maintain lower inmate populations, which eases overpopulation, he said of the program, which is coordinated by Sgt. Victoria Langelier.
During the session that ended a few weeks ago, 48 people from Androscoggin, Oxford, York, Cumberland, Penobscot and Franklin counties took part. Each participant paid a fee to attend the program and served from two and seven days.
Participants cleaned and landscaped, stripped and waxed floors and painted walls at Lewiston High School, The Green Ladle culinary arts school, Lewiston Middle School and at Martel, Longley, McMahon, Geiger and Farwell schools. The participants completed more than 1,500 hours of labor-intensive work, which saved the School Department thousands of dollars, Gagne said.