RUMFORD – Taking up where Rumford police left off, Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant sought and got a federal grant to hire a detective to combat domestic violence crimes in the county.

Deputy Tom Harriman, 49, a former Bridgton officer and state fire investigator who was hired two years ago by the sheriff’s office, was promoted to the position, which will be funded by $69,000 in grant monies.

“I think he will complement us pretty well,” Gallant said Wednesday of Harriman. “He has the right charisma needed so that victims of domestic violence will be comfortable in looking to him.”

The grant will pay for Harriman’s salary and benefits, and safety checks on victims. He will also conduct follow-up investigations with victims, including collecting evidence and written statements, and provide advice on protection-from-abuse orders and referrals to organizations like the Rape Education and Crisis Hotline and the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project.

The position was created through a grant via the federally funded Violence Against Women Act, coupled with about $14,000 to $16,000 remaining from the department’s 2006 Rapid Intervention Deployment Team grant of $38,000, and $1,000 left over from the Rumford Police Department grant used this year to combat domestic violence.

Rumford’s grant-funded position that temporarily promoted patrolman Peter Casey in January to the rank of detective to pursue investigations involving domestic violence and sex crimes in Dixfield, Mexico and Rumford ended on Sept. 30. The county’s grant is retroactive to Oct. 1.

Harriman will also assist Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield police departments, and do follow-up work with victims to ensure that protection orders and bail conditions are not being violated.

There is a significant need for a domestic violence investigator in Oxford County, Gallant and Daley said.

“We’re seeing what Rumford saw, a lot more domestic violence cases,” Gallant said.

“It’s extremely important that we took it over, because patrol officers handling a domestic violence complaint will usually get inundated with other calls over a two-, three- or four-day period. So it’s difficult for them to do follow-up work,” Daley said.

From July 25, 2006, through July 25, 2007, Daley said the sheriff’s office responded to 240 complaints related to domestic violence. During that same period, Rumford police responded to 120 complaints, Mexico police to 140, and Dixfield police to 90.

“I think domestic violence has always been there, but it’s being reported more now, because people are becoming more educated about how to detect signs of domestic violence and what domestic violence crimes are, so it looks like our numbers are increasing,” Daley said.

Additionally, he said they’re seeing more domestic violence crimes being committed in rural areas rather than municipalities because of geographic constraints that make it difficult for police to reach an area and provide appropriate safety measures.

Daley said the county’s rapid intervention team “was overwhelmingly successful” in combating domestic violence in rural Oxford County, and in Bethel and Oxford. That’s why they sought a continuance of the rapid intervention grant and another grant to hire a domestic violence investigator.

“If we’re successful with this, it might show that (the grant and position) are worthwhile,” Gallant added.