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Police chief updates council on BCAT: team compressed by staffing shortfalls, handled thousands of crisis responses
Summary
The police chief told the council BCAT (Bangor Community Action Team) was created in 2023 as a non-police crisis response; the team is under-staffed (two of an intended four), handled about 1,800 BCAT responses in 2025 and the department estimates 20–33% of daily calls relate to the unsheltered population.
The Bangor police chief briefed the council on the Bangor Community Action Team (BCAT) during the Jan. 13 workshop, describing BCAT as an alternate-response model intended to pair specialized responders with people in crisis rather than a uniform police response.
BCAT’s purpose and origins: Formed in 2023 and modeled on West Coast programs, BCAT was designed for welfare checks, behavioral-health crises and other situations where a non-police or de-escalatory approach is appropriate. “BCAT stands for Bangor Community Action Team,” the chief said, and the program works closely with…
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