JAY — Law enforcement is in Jay Police Chief Richard Caton IV’s blood.

His father, the late Richard Caton III, served for years as Farmington Police Chief. Caton’s brother, Brock, is Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police at UMF. Richard, a 1999 Mt. Abram High School graduate, generously took the time to sit down with this reporter recently and talk about his police career.

“My father was always in police work when I was growing up,” he recalled. “He kept urging us to do a federal job. But he was happy to have both of us working in local police departments.”

Richard got a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He admitted that he started out not knowing what field he wanted to get into. For a time, he was looking at joining the Maine Warden Service.

“After an internship with the Warden Service, I determined I wanted to spend time in the woods as hobby rather than a job,” he said.

After college, he attended pre-service school for two and a half weeks. Richard’s father had given him a message to call Jay Police Chief Larry White about doing some dispatch work for the police department. Once he finished the pre-service school, Chief White called him.

Richard remembered the late police chief, who passed away due to cancer last year, as “always being consistent and fair. I definitely learned he ran an efficient police department. He was willing to take care of any problems people had.”

From September-December in 2003, Richard worked part-time for the police department, then was hired full time as an officer. In June of 2006, he was promoted to detective.

“Patrol officers basically respond to all the complaints,” he explained. “They are the first responders. They take the initial complaint. If there’s something that needs followup, it goes to the detective.

“Detectives do more of the major crimes,” Richard continued. “If we needed extra manpower, we’d get an assist from the other agencies available.”

He went to the Wilton Police Department in 2007, taking on the role of Detective/Lieutenant there. In April of 2009, he returned to the Jay Police and was put back into a patrol position. Then, in July of that year, Richard became detective once again.

Richard and the other members of the Jay police force mourned White’s death last fall.

“It was shocking back in January (of 2014) when he first told us he was sick,” said Richard. Chief White had announced that he had pancreatic cancer.

During White’s illness, when he got to a point where he could no longer perform his duties, Richard assumed the interim chief’s role, which he said was a big change in responsibility for him. However, for months before his death, White communicated with him and advised him, guiding him through the process. Richard said he will forever be grateful for his help.

After White passed away, Richard was promoted to police chief. His duties include overseeing a force of six full time and six part time officers as well as overseeing financial aspects of the department.

“Being a small agency, I can be responsible to calls and complaints as well as the officers,” he points out.

They also help patrol ATV trails. Richard said that they do a summer patrol on the trails as well as offering an ATV safety course.

“We provide property checks,” he pointed out. “It’s more that our presence is a deterrent in a lot of things, whether it’s speed control or being out on the streets.”

A goal of his is to have a school resource officer at Spruce Mountain High School.

“We always discussed it with Dr. Wall when he was superintendent,” said Richard. “I haven’t had time to sit down with the new superintendent. When they reconstructed the high school, they put in an office area that we can use. We’d like to do it for a few hours a week to continue that interaction with the school and community.”

And the most rewarding part of his job?

“I guess it would be assisting people with their problems and trying to help solve them,” he said.

When Richard has spare time, he enjoys spending it with his family as well as hunting and fishing.