Crime in Maine

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by Let's tell the truth

Could someone expain to me because I clearly don't get it!! If " the fact is from 1996-2005 the crime rate has been decreasing ,despite a steadily increasing population " posted by Zymer, why are our jail's overflowing and they are hollering for more jail's??

You may have answered your own question there, bubba. Perhaps the crime rate is decreasing because the people who commit the crimes are in jail.

More likely, though, is the fact that most crimes are committed by the 18-36 age group, and the two peaks Zymer mentioned happen to coincide with the peak years of the Baby Boomers and the Shadow Boomers. As Maine gets older, crime can be expected to drop more.

Our prisons are overcrowded because people like you, lttt, have demanded longer prison terms for offenders. Life without parole is now a common penalty for murder one convictions, for example.

BTW, you complained earlier that we were making fun of crime in Maine. Wrong. We were making fun of you. Your insistence on portraying Maine as a hotbed of criminal activity has turned the whole subject into a joke, sad to say. And the blame for that can be laid directly at your feet.

[deerislesmile]

Originally Posted by Let's tell the truth

Could someone expain to me because I clearly don't get it!! If " the fact is from 1996-2005 the crime rate has been decreasing ,despite a steadily increasing population " posted by Zymer, why are our jail's overflowing and they are hollering for more jail's?? Could it be that the stats have been adjusted a little to make this state look a little bit like a rose garden?? Remember we are Vacationland!!

Yes, I'm sure that the most believable explaination. All of the official data in this state (and heck, even the federal government, too, I guess) is skewed so that it will seem less corrupt than it really is, for the sole purpose of... attracting tourists?

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Let's tell the truth

Could someone expain to me because I clearly don't get it!! If " the fact is from 1996-2005 the crime rate has been decreasing ,despite a steadily increasing population " posted by Zymer, why are our jail's overflowing and they are hollering for more jail's?? Could it be that the stats have been adjusted a little to make this state look a little bit like a rose garden?? Remember we are Vacationland!!

I have read articles in the Bangor paper, and listened to the sheriff on the radio; both talking about the issue of jail crowding. The majority of inmates have mental issues, and are in need of treatment. But apparently they have nowhere else to send or put this mentally unstable people, so the jail is full.

[Zymer]

OK, been hunting down some more facts:

A TOTAL of 478 people were sentenced to prison last year in Maine, one-quarter of them for less than a year. Their charges:
109, drug crimes;
62, sex offenses;
50, assaults and threatening;
43, burglary;
39, criminal traffic offenses;
175 for other crimes.

From a story in the Portland Press Herald (written by staff writer David Hench):

The Maine Department of Corrections wants to employ a series of temporary measures to house an overflow of 245 prisoners. The plan calls for opening an empty housing unit at the state's Charleston Correctional Facility and leasing cell space from Cumberland, York, Lincoln and Sagadahoc county jails, which have excess capacity.

So, this tells us that not ALL of Maine's jails are overcrowded. The next obvious question would be "Which jails are overcrowded and why?" The answer is found in the same story:

In Maine, the increase appears to stem from a rise in people with shorter sentences being sent to state prison rather than county jails, and to a steady climb in the number of people sentenced for sex and drug crimes.

As we can see, part of the reason is as I proposed earlier, an increase in arrests and convictions.

And, to more specifically define the problem, as we can also see it is the state facilities which are overcrowded while county facilities are under-utilized.

We gain some more insight from an article in the Bangor Daily News:

The public has demanded stiffer sentencing, and the Legislature has complied. Sentencing rules now require anyone sentenced to nine months and a day or more be committed to the state correctional system, rather than the county jails...

As I also speculated earlier, harsher punishment plays a part. The people asked for it and they got it, now they have to pay for it. It costs money to keep people in jail, and you need to have the space to keep them.

So the "problem" is that the Criminal Justice system is doing what they are supposed to do, and what they have been asked to do- cracking down on crime and keeping more people in jail for longer periods of time and reducing the incidence of crime.

Is there a bright side to this?

Sure, the crime rate is dropping and there are employment opportunities. Prison guards have been complaining about having to work too much overtime and I have been seeing a number of advertisements to hire prison guards.

So LTTT, if you want to do something about the real problem, hie thee to the DOC and get yourself a job as a prison guard...then you can contribute to the tax base and lecture the inmates on the errors of their ways, who knows, maybe *that* will make them think twice about re-offending.

[Cornerguy1]

A previous poster in this thread wrote:

BTW, you complained earlier that we were making fun of crime in Maine. Wrong. We were making fun of you.

This seems to have become quite a pastime on the Maine forum lately and it needs to stop.


While I understand that certain posters have a subject choice and a delivery method which just seems to irritate others, it needs to be acknowledged that those posters have a right to post their material without harasment, so long as their postings are made in accordance with the Terms of Service.

If certain posters irritate you, then take advantage of the Ignore feature; this will remove the offending material from your computer screen.

Personal attacks are not the way to deal with this issue, nor are they permitted under the Terms of Service.

It's time all posters in this little drama started respecting the TOS. City Data's purpose is to allow those "in the know" to share their knowledge with the curious.

Many people are curious about the great state of Maine and the bounty she has to offer; personal squabbling on this forum only dilutes the message.

Thanks for everyone's cooperation.