The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office considers drug abuse and drug trafficking to be a major factor that impacts the quality of life of the citizens of Kennebec County. Drug abuse and trafficking also contributes to the increase in the overall crime rates county wide.
Sheriff Mason has taken a proactive approach and assigned three deputies to combat drug trafficking at all levels. A Deputy is assigned to local drug related issues, a Sergeant is assigned to Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and a Detective is assigned to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Detective assigned to DEA’s Portland, Maine resident office is titled as a Task Force Officer. This gives the Sheriff’s Office the ability to not only combat drug trafficking at the local level, but aids in the opportunity to attack large scale drug trafficking operations at their source throughout Maine and the United States.
Additional benefits of pursuing narcotics violations at the federal level include equitable sharing as it relates to asset forfeiture. Kennebec County taxpayers benefit from the funds resulting in seized assets as they are used as extra funding for training and updating equipment in the Law Enforcement Division.
Sheriff Mason believes that this approach, to combating drug related crimes, along with his proactive approach to treating drug and alcohol addiction in the Kennebec County Correctional Facility through education is a step in the right direction to improving the daily quality of life for the citizens of Kennebec County.