A sharp increase in emergency calls has the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department paying closer attention to the Boothbay peninsula. Over the past 15 years, Sheriff Todd Brackett reports emergency calls in the peninsula have tripled. This has resulted in sheriff department officials investigating options for increasing law enforcement’s presence in the four-town region.

The department’s first step in a greater Boothbay peninsula presence occurred last summer with the emergence of a sheriff department’s satellite office. Last April, Brackett proposed opening a satellite branch in the Boothbay town office. And by August, the sheriff’s department had a space in the local municipal building’s tax assessor’s office.

“There has been a significant increase in traffic mostly due to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and other new activities. As we watched the numbers grow, we began looking at ways to increase our presence,” Brackett said.

Once the sheriff’s department received town approval, it didn’t take long to move into the satellite office. All the department needed was connectivity in linking a laptop computer to the sheriff’s online recordkeeping system. So far, sheriff's deputies have used the satellite office sparingly. “This is just the first project’s first phase,” Brackett said. “The office is there for deputy sheriffs to complete their paperwork and be closer if an emergency should happen. As we progress further I’m sure it will be used more.”

Another step in a greater Boothbay peninsula presence is more traffic patrols. Brackett requested an additional patrolman in the 2019 budget. Currently, the Lincoln County Budget Committee and commissioners are reviewing all budget requests for the next year. An additional patrolman would allow for increased coverage around the county for an increasing number of trouble spots such as one in Edgecomb. For the past month, Edgecomb residents have contacted local and  county officials about unsafe traffic conditions on the Dodge, Middle, Cross Point and Eddy roads. During the Nov. 19 selectmen’s meeting, Brackett addressed local concerns about increased traffic traveling at unsafe speeds. 

“The commissioners will approve the budget next month, and I hope the additional patrolman is approved,” he said. “The problem in Edgecomb is reflexive about what's happening county-wide. The gradual traffic growth is a healthy impact about what is going on. The crime rate hasn’t increased, but we are receiving more calls about security alarms and traffic problems. A greater presence will result in a better response from us.”

Sheriff's department officials are considering opening another satellite office in the Newcastle and Bristol area, but that may not happen for a few years. Once the department assesses the Boothbay satellite office's effect, it may result in another one opening in the county’s western section, according to Brackett.