Stimulus grants help Maine police fund TASERs

By David Hench
Portland Press-Herald

PORTLAND, Maine — As bleak as the forecast is for municipal spending, acting Police Chief Joseph Loughlin got some good news last week: Economic stimulus money could make possible some equipment purchases that he says will improve officers' ability to keep the peace.

Portland is due to receive almost $700,000 in U.S. Department of Justice grants to pay for equipment, technology and specialized enforcement, and Loughlin said it couldn't come at a better time.

''There's a lot of needs we've been forgoing for years. We need to address those things that help us provide public safety and efficient and effective police work on the streets,'' he said.

The department's needs range from fitness equipment and new lockers, to biometric fingerprint storage and analysis systems for the regional forensics lab, he said.

The money might finally enable the department to equip officers with Tasers, the electronic stun devices, Loughlin said.

''I'm looking at Tasers. I think they're effective tools. I know they are controversial, but enough studies have shown if officers are trained properly, they work,'' he said.

Even as cash-strapped cities and towns struggle to maintain police departments at current levels, federal stimulus money is arriving to help pay for equipment and other special expenditures that chiefs couldn't hope to make otherwise in the current economic climate.

A separate federal program will focus specifically on hiring officers.

The federal economic stimulus plan includes $2 billion in public safety funding, $9.6 million of which will be sent to Maine in the form of justice assistance grants.

The state's Justice Assistance Council plans a public hearing in Augusta on Monday to gather input on how the state should allocate 60 percent of the money.

Much of the $9.6 million total - 40 percent - will be passed on to larger municipalities, which have a significant share of Maine's serious and violent crime. South Portland is due to receive $113,089 through the program.

''Compared to our overall budget, it is not a lot of money. However, any help at this point will benefit our ability to deliver police services to the community,'' said South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins, whose budget this year was $3.5 million. He said he does not yet know how the city will spend its share of the money.

South Portland got no justice assistance grants last year. In the two prior years, it received between $12,000 and $20,000. The money was used to pay for stepped-up traffic enforcement during busy commuter times, Googins said. In 2005, the money was used to buy digital video recording equipment for cruisers.

Police chiefs say that decisions on how to spend the money will depend on the rules of the grants, in terms of allowable expenses. Loughlin said he would like to hire a community coordinator to build and maintain ties with the city's immigrant and refugee communities, and expand the work of community policing centers.

He said the department also needs equipment for its hazardous-materials response personnel, its bomb squad and the special reaction team.

The usefulness of Tasers was borne out in a standoff in Westbrook on Sunday, when police used the device to disable a man who threatened to kill himself and officers with a 12-inch knife, according to police.

''We take people into custody all the time where they are extremely violent and we have to use force,'' Loughlin said. ''We want to avoid injury to the suspect and to the officers.''

Copyright 2009 Portland Press Herald