A Franklin County deputy, 20 years on the job, cheated on a test while attending the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. He was expelled by the academy’s director, and the board of trustees upheld the ruling. The expulsion was justified and the correct decision.

Sarge Daigle admitted his transgression and cooperated with the academy’s investigation.

He said he had a “mind cramp,” that the act was not premeditated and that he didn’t need to cheat to pass. None of that matters.

Being a police officer requires clear-mindedness and integrity. Cops make tough decisions all the time and are consistently faced with temptations to step away from ethical behavior.

They must deal with shady characters and corrupt enterprises. Dirty money is available for the taking and a single misjudgment can allow a dangerous criminal to go free and turn an otherwise good cop down the criminal path. For our system of law and justice to function, the public must be able to believe that police don’t cheat, even if their intent is good.

If a cop will cheat on an exam, would he back date a police report to get a crook off the street? Might evidence be doctored? Would she lie on the witness stand?

Daigle has resigned from the Sheriff’s Department. That, too, was the right decision.

Civil society depends on the fair enforcement of the rules. Cops who bend those rules shouldn’t be cops.

No compromises. No shades of gray. No excuses.
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Under control
Not every lawmaker knows what various state agencies do or how much it costs to operate them.

We’re not making that up.

Former House Speaker Michael Saxl once said that and meant it.

The very people responsible for oversight of state agencies – many new to office – are poorly equipped to identify waste and inefficiency. It’s called unchecked bureaucracy.

Maine now has a tool to potentially rein back government. The new legislative Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability will do what taxpayers would do if we had the time and know-how to inspect state government. The office will examine the value of all state programs, one at a time.

As important as balanced books are, this office won’t be responsible for financial audits. It will do something more important. It will audit program effectiveness and efficiency, which should give it plenty of work to do given the chronic inefficiency of government.

Government is too big, costs too much and spends too much money. Identifying redundancies and pinpointing unnecessary programs will bring control back to a system that has long forgotten how to control itself.


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