CARIBOU, Maine – Caribou’s police chief is advocating for a new station that he said could help the department grow and expand crucial services.
The Caribou Police Department has long needed a new station. Currently housed in the basement of city hall, built in 1939, the station is cramped and lacks proper space for evidence processing and storage. The station has not had a renovation since the 1970s, motivating police and city officials to pursue building another one.
But the price tag, currently sitting at $10.3 million for design and construction, has led to criticism from some city councilors and community members, who want to ensure the city does not borrow more than the $10 million that voters approved in 2022. The city has secured $2.5 million in congressional funding for the project.
Last week, a majority of city councilors agreed to move forward with designing the station despite another sticking point: the building’s proposed size.
Designed by the Bangor-based architectural firm Artifex, the current floorplan places the building at 11,100 square feet, comparable to police stations in Waterville and Gorham, at 12,000 and 10,000 square feet, respectively. Those city’s populations are 16,823 and 18,336, respectively, compared with Caribou’s 7,431, according to the latest U.S. Census data.
Many have questioned if that size station is too large for Caribou, but Police Chief Corey Saucier, who took the helm in July, said that the proposed structure has everything his officers would need to bring the department into the modern world of policing, including greater partnerships with mental health agencies.
Aroostook law enforcement agencies have seen an uptick in mental health crisis calls, prompting more mental healthcare professionals to join officers on those calls. In a first for The County, three social workers from Aroostook Mental Health Center started seeing clients from offices at Presque Isle’s police station.
“We’ve seen that space being used more as the community comes to recognize that our staff is there and available,” said Sarah Wright, program director at AMHC.
Wright did not give specific call or office visit numbers for Presque Isle or Caribou but said that a larger police station in Caribou would allow her staff to also have offices there, something that the current station lacks. AMHC staff already meets with incarcerated individuals at the jail who have mental health needs, she said.
Artifex’s most recent floorplan for the new Caribou station proposes six offices, not including the chief’s, that range from 116 to 119 square feet. An additional office, measured at 142 square feet, would be designated for social workers, with an adjacent 143-square-foot interview room.
Saucier’s proposed office is currently at 234 square feet, and a dispatcher’s space and a nearby conference room would be 220 and 395 square feet, respectively.
Though some offices will be for police administrative staff and officers, Saucier said he wants to invite professionals from AMHC, Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine State Police and Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office to use other offices for meetings with clients or work space and the conference room for training.
Caribou Police has assisted state police and sheriff deputies on calls, so having spaces for those entities could strengthen those partnerships, Saucier said.
“This is the way police work is going,” Saucier said. “Being in the same space, we can all work together toward the same goals.”
The new station’s design also keeps in mind how officers can better perform their duties, potentially enticing them to stay and help grow the department, Saucier said.
Currently, Saucier oversees 10 police officers but is searching for at least four to six more to get the department fully staffed.
“Six would be ideal. Four would get us to where we could function better and get more guys and gals on the road,” Saucier said.
Due to the currently tight headquarters, officers have been processing narcotics evidence in the same room where paper towels and toilet paper are stored. They’ve been storing non-sensitive case files, such as blank accident forms, in small spaces near the employee shower area and bathrooms. More sensitive files are kept at an undisclosed, city-owned location.
By contrast, the proposed floorplan includes a 521-square-foot evidence storage room, with adjoining rooms for storing weapons and narcotics evidence projected at 150 square feet each. Saucier said he would also use part of a basement for some storage.
The current plan accounts for three holding cells: one for juvenile prisoners at 104 square feet, one for female prisoners at 120 square feet and one for male prisoners at 87 square feet. State regulations mean that Caribou cannot change the sizes of the holding cells even if other parts of the station are adjusted for size, Saucier said.
Caribou’s holding facility is the only one of its kind in Aroostook, outside of the county jail in Houlton, that can house prisoners for the required 72 hours before their initial court appearance, an asset for smaller departments throughout Aroostook.
The largest component of the new station would be a 1,010-square-foot sallyport, a secure entrypoint for police vehicles that only officers would access. Saucier addressed recent suggestions that the sallyport be removed to reduce the station’s square footage.
“It’s a safety thing. If you’re removing someone from a vehicle and they’re yelling, people in the lobby don’t need to hear that,” Saucier said. Currently, officers have to go through the station’s lobby to bring in prisoners.
Along with the city council’s public safety committee, Saucier recently worked with Artifex to relocate the sallyport closer to the holding cells and the cells closer to the dispatch station and evidence rooms. They also removed a proposed sleeping area for officers that Saucier said would not have been necessary.
Other than that, he does not anticipate suggesting major changes to the design.
“We’re not all going to agree, and I understand that, but I think ultimately we all agree that we need a larger building, so we need to move forward with it,” Saucier said.
