March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Piscataquis County OUIs rise, despite education

Despite public awareness programs conducted on drinking and driving, drunken driving-related incidences continued to rise in some parts of Piscataquis County in 1997.

“We seem to be arresting more for OUI in 1997 than the previous year and we’re concerned about that,” Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin said Monday. Goggin had not yet compiled the annual statistics, but was certain the numbers would be up from 1996.

Dover-Foxcroft police also have seen an increase but two other municipal police departments saw a decline in arrests for operating under the influence in 1997.

Greenville Police Chief Duane Alexander and Milo Police Chief Todd Lyford both said Monday that OUI violations were down in their communities in 1997 from the violations recorded in 1996.

Like their counterparts across the state, the Sheriff’s Department and local police departments in the county received state grants to help with OUI awareness. These grants were used primarily to fund the personnel to run roadblocks to combat drunken driving.

Goggin said he was unsure whether education programs in the community had reduced OUI crimes. Or, the rise in the OUI arrests may be the result of increased patrols, he said.

The sheriff said it would be interesting to find out how many of those arrested for OUI were not county residents. “I’d like to believe local people got the message that it’s not right to drink and drive,” he said. If the majority were noncounty residents then it’s likely they were “just falling into the net” of the county’s OUI efforts, he added.

Alexander said the drop in OUI arrests in his community was because of his department’s aggressive attack on crime. He said that in 1996, 47 OUI arrests were made compared with 12 this year. Most of those arrested for the crime, he believed, were nonresidents.

While juvenile crime in the county overall in 1997 appears to be at about the same level as last year, Dover-Foxcroft is dealing with more of this particular crime, according to Dennis Dyer, the police chief of Dover-Foxcroft.

“We’re dealing with a lot of young adolescents in grammar school, third-, fourth-graders who are 8, 9 and 10 years old and who are out of control,” Dyer said. He said several adolescents, who have violent tempers, have assaulted teachers.

The Sheriff’s Department, Dover-Foxcroft police and Greenville police logged more complaints in 1997 than the previous year. Lyford said Milo actually handled fewer complaints. In 1996, Lyford said, his department handled 74 complaints compared with about 40 in 1997. He said his department prosecuted 32 cases in 1996 and only six in 1997. Lyford, who has served as chief for eight years, believes the improved economy has played a role in reducing crime in his community. “Actually, it’s been one of the better years,” Lyford said of law enforcement efforts.

In Dover-Foxcroft, Dyer said his department handled about 3,800 complaints in 1996 compared with about 4,200 in 1997.

Although incidents involving burglary and theft reported in 1997 to the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department were fewer than those reported in 1996, Dover-Foxcroft reported a higher incidence of these crimes. Unlike Lyford who believes the economy is improving, Dyer said he believed a lagging economy was part of the reason for the increase in burglaries.

“We got two people in jail we arrested this weekend and their only statements were, `I had to feed my belly. I had no place to work,”‘ Dyer said.


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