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Residents and assessors flag overnight coverage and recruitment challenges
Summary
The assessors told residents Damariscotta typically has one officer on 6 a.m.–2 a.m., with Lincoln County covering 2 a.m.–6 a.m.; they and residents said recruitment and retention are the key constraints on 24/7 local coverage.
Residents and assessors discussed staffing limits and what it would take to provide continuous local coverage.
The assessment lead explained staffing as follows: from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. there is one local officer on duty; from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department covers calls because the town does not currently staff that shift. He said that adding one full‑time person could allow better supervisory overlap and improve liability mitigation.
Multiple residents described satisfaction with visible daytime response but acknowledged the limits of a five‑officer department and the difficulty of replacing officers when larger agencies recruit trained candidates. “You can own a thousand guns if you wanted and that's your right,” one assessor said in the related legal context when clarifying Maine's permissive firearm rules; the staffing discussion focused on the personnel needed for safe two‑officer responses and training availability.
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