Longtime Wiscasset Police Officer, Willie Simmons, 58 was all set to retire before he learned the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen was considering eliminating the town’s police force.
In the midst of selectmen’s deliberations on the issue, Simmons, 58, opted to stay on, at least part time.
Simmons said the department used to have eight full-time officers. There are now three full-time officers and nine on reserve, four of whom he said are really active and work full-time for other departments.
“Back in the eighties, we would get over 100 applications,” Simmons said, comparing with today’s numbers.
In current times, police departments have difficulty recruiting new officers. Simmons said police hopefuls submit multi-jurisdictional applications, spreading the recruiting pool out over a larger area.
He does not know the reason for the recruitment conundrum. Simmons said he began his police officer career in 1983, hired at the time by Chief Michael Riedy.
“It was a lot different,” Simmons said. “Our jobs were more involved.”
They had to write out their reports by hand, Simmons said, though he admits there is more criminal activity now than in the 1980s. Today, there are a lot more drugs and traffic problems with an increase in the population. He said the police department also addresses more domestic issues than in years past.
“We have the same old crimes,” he said, “just more of them.”
He said cell phones have also increased their activity. More people now make calls to the police department using their cell phones, mostly to report traffic incidents. Some of them do not amount to crimes, but officers have to check on calls, regardless.
When Simmons started his career, he was given a .357 handgun and a set of speed loaders (to help load his gun in one motion). They did not have taser guns or lots other equipment now used by police department personnel.
Many people enter law enforcement and other emergency services careers for the rush of excitement and to be directly involved with the community. Simmons said he could relate to the feeling.
“It’s such a fast-paced world,” he added.
Any minute he could switch from sitting calmly in the department office to driving 100 mph down the road on call to some emergency.
Simmons said he is ready to retire from the department and focus on other outdoor activities in which he was previously involved.
“I don’t want to wrestle with these younger guys,” he said.
Criminal activity traditionally slows down in the winter, but last winter it didn’t seem to slow down, Simmons said. He added this winter has also been steady, as well.
Simmons said he operates a small business mowing lawns, splitting wood and performing other outdoor chores. He said he might also get back to digging worms.
“It’s gone by fast,” he said of his career.
