Maine Town Decides Not to Bring Back Their Police Department

This past August, a Maine town voted to disband its police department after years of service to the community. At the time, there was still hope that, in the future, the department would be brought back to life. However, after an April Fools' Day vote by the town, that hope has dwindled.

According to an article published by WGME 13, the town of Mexico, Maine held a special town vote on Tuesday about whether or not to reinstate the town's police force. That vote ultimately failed.

And the vote wasn't even close. The news station is reporting that only 88 residents were in favor of restoring the town's department while a whopping 234 residents voted in favor of continuing coverage from the Oxford County Sheriff's Office.

However, there could still be some changes forthcoming after the vote. As it stands right now, Oxford County SO covers the town of Mexico for 18 out of 24 hours per day. Residents at the vote expressed support for bumping that up to 24-hour-a-day coverage.

If the town were to eventually bring back its own department, it would cost local taxpayers about $1 million per year to sustain. So, as it stands right now, the Mexico, Maine Police Department will continue to remain 'idle'.

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The following is an excerpt from an article written just days before the Mexico, Maine PD shut its doors for good.

Even though rural areas like Mexico may have lower crime rates compared with larger towns and cities in Maine, crime still occurs.

The Mexico Police Department works hard to prevent crime through patrols and community engagement, and they investigate crimes to hold offenders accountable as well.

According to an article published by WMTW, and a post from the town's Facebook page, the town Select board has voted it change the status of the Mexico Police Department to 'idle' status.

The news station reports that this, in large part, is due to a severe lack of available staff. The change from active to idle will happen as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, August 20.

Mexico Police Chief, Roy C. Hodsdon, said in the press release announcement:

"Over the last year, I have been trying to recruit officers with no success. The town has supported our police department, requesting we continue to recruit and reopen our doors. My main objective in this very difficult decision made by our board was to make sure our town is being protected."