Corrections Administrator Mark Westrum reported last week Sagadahoc County’s inmate count at Two Bridges Regional Jail continues to exceed that of Lincoln County.
Speaking before the multi-county jail authority last Wed., Oct. 10, Westrum said the count that day was 42 Sagadahoc County inmates compared to 32 Lincoln County inmates. The difference between the two counties’ inmates has seemingly been a trend for several months, which authority members have said at past meetings, could mean a change in the counties’ cost-sharing arrangement if the situation persists.
Westrum attributed the difference to the court process in each county. “They (Lincoln County) move inmates through the court system quicker,” he said.
Sagadahoc inmates sit in jail longer for a lot of pre-trial and detention cases, and Sagadahoc needs more judges, according to Westrum.
“Lincoln County has done a better job in moving people through,” he said.
During the board meeting, the authority voted to reject an offer from a neighbor to purchase of one acre of land.
Currently the regional jail sits on 20 acres, which the jail authority owns. The authority previously decided to divide in half of the remaining property originally purchased for the facility, amounting to 55 acres. Lincoln County now owns half of the parcel, and Sagadahoc owns half, Westrum said.
Westrum reported $68,878 in revenue this year from inmates boarded at Two Bridges, mostly from Aroostook, Cumberland, and Kennebec Counties, as well as from the state and other counties.
“We’re trying to get federal inmates from the U.S. Dept. of Immigration and the U.S. Marshall,” he said. “They’re easier than state inmates.”
Usually the U.S. Marshall’s inmates have been involved with white collar crimes, and the U.S. Immigration inmates are involved with immigration violations. “They’re very easy to deal with,” he said. “They don’t want any trouble.”
Westrum said he and other jail officials have done a lot of study on those two types of inmates. He also said Maj. Mark Anderson, assistant corrections administrator, had a considerable amount of experience with inmates in those categories having come from a much larger jail in the Midwest.
Other business discussed during the authority meeting last week, included the organizational flow chart jail officials have been working on. It entails reorganized of staffing entailing changes in positions, Westrum said.
