RUMFORD – Police Chief Stacy Carter is applying a grant to pay for an officer to concentrate exclusively on domestic abuse, sexual assault and child exploitation cases.
The grant, known as S.T.O.P. (Services Training Officers and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women, is being offered statewide by the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The officer would serve the towns of Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield.
In 2005, there were 141 cases of domestic abuse, eight sexual assaults, six cases of sex abuse of a minor, and three unlawful sexual contact cases in Rumford; 51 domestic abuse cases and seven sexual assaults in Mexico; and 29 cases of domestic abuse and two sexual assault cases in Dixfield.
Rumford’s two detectives handle all of that town’s domestic abuse and sex-related cases, along with everything else, Carter said.
“One of the things we’ve talked about in regionalism meetings is the need for more investigators,” he said.
He received unanimous approval to go for the grant from Rumford’s Board of Selectmen last week. On Monday, he goes before Dixfield’s board for support, and on Wednesday, he will appear before the Mexico Board of Selectmen.
The officer hired for this position would conduct the investigations after an arrest by an officer, then take the necessary actions to assure victim safety and prepare cases for court.
Carter hasn’t decided how much of the nearly $263,000 offered by the state he will apply for. The application deadline is Aug. 17.
Successful applicants must provide a 25 percent match; however, that match can be comprised of office space and equipment. The location of the officer to serve the three towns has not been determined.
Carter thinks the area’s chances for getting the grant are good because it is multi-jurisdictional use.
If Carter is successful, the officer would be hired as soon as the application is approved. If the first year of the program goes well, then the state would help fund a second year, and if that year is successful, a third year could be funded.
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