By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

FRYEBURG – The police chief is asking for public comment on what police should do when a sex offender moves into town.

Police Chief Wayne Brooking said he is holding a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at the town offices for people who want a say in how police alert neighbors after a registered sex offender settles in.

“Public opinion is very important,” Brooking said, adding he wants to know if townspeople would like police to inform them of every new arrival, or just the convicted offenders considered most dangerous.

June 1 was the deadline by which every municipality in Maine was required to have a sex offender notification policy in place, based on a law passed by the Legislature in 2005, John B. Rogers said Monday. Rogers is the director of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

“By the end of 2006, every law enforcement officer has to be trained in that policy,” Rogers added.

Each municipality has the authority to develop its own policy, Rogers said, although the Maine Chiefs of Police Association has developed a model policy that some departments have copied verbatim.

Brooking said the town has been using this model policy since June 1, but he would like to modify it for the Fryeburg Police Department.

“I think sometimes a person can be convicted of a crime, and they are not necessarily a danger to the community after they have served their sentence,” Brooking said.

“Whether it is hanging a poster, or going door to door or making radio and newspaper announcements that someone has moved into a neighborhood, I want to leave it up to police after doing an investigation,” Brooking said. “But I certainly wouldn’t want to do that if the public is adamant that we go door-to-door on every registered sex offender. Then I would rethink my policy.”

Currently, Maine’s sex offender registry lists six convicted offenders living in Fryeburg. Those listed in the state registry fall into two categories: those with lesser offenses who must register for 10 years, and those who have more serious offenses who are required to register for life.

Rogers said that the Maine Chiefs of Police Association is also recommending that with the more serious offenders, local crisis center workers, probation officers, police officers and district attorneys come together in a community forum to develop a plan on how to notify people.