Overcrowding problems have made it tougher for some county jails to house maximum security inmates.

Christian C. Nielsen, charged with four counts of murder, was in the Oxford County Jail until Friday. He was transferred to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland in the afternoon after he hit inmate Ryan Brown in the back of the head with a mop wringer, Capt. Ernest Martin said.

Different jails have different policies for dealing with homicide suspects, although they are all analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

Nielsen is now being held in his own cell at a maximum security setting, although he does have limited contact with other inmates, according to Cumberland jail officials. Jail administrators were not available for further comment.

A corrections officer was in the room at the time of the Oxford County incident and officials knew nothing immediately that provoked the attack, Martin said.

Nielsen had his own cell, which was locked down at night, Martin said, however during the day he had access to a day area that was shared by eight or nine other inmates.

Martin said he was put in that block after being monitored for 24 hours in a one-on-one situation.

The Oxford County Jail has only one cell available for inmates who need to be isolated, and it is always occupied, Martin said.

There have been 22 homicide suspects held at the jail during Martin’s tenure, he said. They are usually put in a block with other inmates providing they are mentally OK.

Martin said the staff watches them carefully, however murder suspects lashing out on other inmates is not the biggest concern.

“I was more concerned about other inmates beating him up,” Martin said. Before the attack, “he got along with everyone just fine.”

Given Brown’s mannerisms, there could have been a conflict in the cell block with Nielsen that the guards did not observe, Martin said. It is unlikely that the two men had a pre-existing relationship prior to incarceration.

Brown is awaiting trial on a series of charges including robbery, aggravated assault and terrorizing.

Both Martin and Androscoggin County Jail Administrator John Lebel said murder suspects are often well behaved while contained.

“Murder is a crime of passion,” Lebel said. “When the individual is in a calm and controlled setting (they are less likely to cause problems).”

Policies in dealing with murder suspects vary from jail to jail. Martin said in his lockup, the inmates are not permitted to have contact visits.

At the Franklin County Jail in Farmington, there is no specific policy for dealing with murder suspects, it is all determined case by case, said jail administrator Sandra Collins.

The Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn faces similar overcrowding problems to Oxford, Lebel said. The jail, which is larger, handles about two or three murder suspects a year.

If an inmate is problematic, “We create no-contact rules, but when we have large numbers it makes it much more difficult,” Lebel said. “It’s tough to try to isolate individuals.”

The standing practice at his jail is to bring homicide suspects in at a maximum security level, Lebel said. Depending on their behavior they could be elevated to a high maximum level or brought down to medium security.

“We do not allow anyone charged with homicide to be held below medium level,” Lebel said.

At the maximum security level at Androscoggin, inmates are held in a single cell but would be allowed contact with other inmates during the day.

Larger jails, such as York and Cumberland have more space and staff to deal with inmates at heightened security levels, Lebel said.

Problems are more likely to arise in an overcrowded environment because it creates a “short fuse” with both the staff and inmates, Lebel said.

“It’s not a healthy thing,” he added.