Penobscot County OKs two transport vans and electronic monitoring program for pretrial supervision

Penobscot County commissioners voted May 6 to approve the purchase of two transport vans for the sheriff—s office and to authorize a new electronic monitoring option for some pretrial defendants.

The sheriff—s office opened bids for two prisoner-transport vans and a security insert. The low local bid for a 2024 Ford Transit cargo van was from Court Auto Group at $52,897 if a vehicle was in stock (higher if ordered). The alternative quote from Quality Vans (including an insert) was roughly $122,640; the sheriff said the department will order a second, more basic van and a single security insert to serve separation needs.

On a separate vote the commission approved pursuing an electronic monitoring program with the county—s current vendor, Securus. The vendor proposes equipment-as-service (no upfront equipment purchase) and daily monitoring fees. Meeting discussion estimated an initial program cost in the low thousands per year at modest initial enrollment (the sheriff—s office estimated 10—15 participants as a starting point and suggested a rough annual cost estimate of $10,000—,000 at that participation level). A per-day monitoring charge discussed in the meeting was about $3.49 per monitored device per day.

Why it matters: Commissioners and the sheriff—s office framed electronic monitoring as an additional supervision tool that can reduce the county—s need to hospitalize inmates or hold them in the jail when alternatives exist, and as a way to help courts manage pretrial risk under recent bail and release rule changes.

Details and committee direction: - Two vehicle bids were considered: Court Auto Group (local dealer) and Quality Vans (out-of-state supplier). Court Auto Group—s in-stock price for a Transit cargo van was $52,897; manufacturer's list price if ordered was listed at $57,750. - The transport insert (security cage/separation module) was quoted by the vendor at about $20,000; the sheriff said only one insert would be purchased to outfit the van used for prisoner transfers requiring separation. - The county approved purchasing the vehicles subject to final specification checks by the sheriff—s office. - The commission approved implementing Securus's Cirrus electronic monitoring system under the county—s existing contract with the vendor; the sheriff noted the system requires little or no capital outlay because the vendor supplies equipment and charges daily service fees.

No novel procurement method was approved; commissioners asked the sheriff—s office to confirm final specifications and to report back on implementation costs and enrollment projections.

Ending: The sheriff said the purchases and the monitoring program will increase the department—s capacity for secure transport and supervised pretrial release; follow-up reporting to the commission on costs and pilot enrollment was requested.