“When do the State Police provide services for the county?” Commissioner Hamilton Meserve asked at the Lincoln County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

 Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett provided a lengthy response. 

“The sheriff’s office responds to major crimes in the county 94-98 percent of the time,” Brackett explained. “The State Police provide specialty support, for example in cases that involve a homicide or sexual abuse or assault,” he said.

Brackett praised the good working relationship between municipal police departments and State Police and cited incidents over the summer when local police and the sheriff’s office had worked with a Sate Police homicide team.

Commissioner William Blodgett asked if State Police are available around the clock in Lincoln County.

While troopers do patrol the county, “The state police are stretched thin and they do not provide 24-hour daily coverage,” Brackett answered. “The sheriff’s office, however, does provide coverage on a 24-hour per day basis.”

According to Brackett, his office has received 14,000 calls for service so far this year and State Police have responded to less than .5 percent of these. “They don’t have the manpower,” he explained, “and if we had to rely on them exclusively, people would be waiting for response to a call.”

Brackett also explained that the expense of putting a member of the State Police “on the road” in the county is about $20,000 more per trooper than the cost for a member of the sheriff’s office. “Members of the sheriff’s office also stay connected locally, so we have local knowledge. Overall, county property owners would have higher taxes and less service if only the State Police responded to calls,” Brackett said.