PARIS – State and county police signed a one-year agreement Tuesday to share coverage of Oxford County in a more efficient way.

The county will be divided into three zones, each with a deputy and a trooper providing coverage. One of the agencies will provide primary coverage, while the other will serve as backup and conduct follow-up investigations, paperwork and other tasks. The primary agency will change from week to week.

“We’re working as a unit instead of two separate entities trying to do the same thing,” Oxford County Chief Deputy Dane Tripp said.

Under the old system, established in 1998, the county was divided into four zones, with deputies and troopers each covering two zones and rotating zones every month.

Trooper Ron Turnick said this led to difficulties in following up on incidents that occurred at the end of the month, because officers would be transferred to different zones. Under the new system, troopers and deputies are not rotated out of an assigned zone.

Trooper Kyle Tilsley said the new model allowed him to investigate a series of burglaries handled by the Sheriff’s Office during his weeks as a backup officer.

“I don’t think anyone cares whose name is at the bottom of the page,” Tilsley said.

Sheriff Wayne Gallant said the advantages of the agreement include greater visibility of law enforcement and better enforcement.

The agreement also aims to prevent officers from responding to calls that are already cleared, and to allow officers to call in and take over a response if they are closer to the incident than the other officer.

Jim Miclon, director of the Oxford County Regional Communications Center, said the agreement has streamlined the serving of papers such as subpoenas and summonses by reducing the distance officers have to travel.