Sheriff Todd Brackett and an informal group of Lincoln County residents announce early steps in the formation of a Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).

The CAC is intended to be a diverse group of Lincoln County citizens who come together with LCSO staff and community stakeholders to advise the Sheriff on matters of policy and other public safety issues within our County.

The idea was initially proposed to Sheriff Brackett by Rev. Charlene Corbett and Matthew Hanly of Bremen. A first step has been the creation of a Steering Group of volunteer county residents to get things moving. In addition to Char Corbett and Matthew Hanly that group includes: Larry Bennigson (Jefferson), Rebecca Emmons (Newcastle), and Larry Sidelinger (Damariscotta).

Another early step has been, in cooperation with Sheriff Brackett, the drafting of the purposes and goals of the CAC. Primary purposes are to aid in fostering communication and transparency, and to strengthen community trust and accountability in the Office of the Sheriff and its operations.

More specific goals include:

1) to build a community-wide and supportive partnership between the LCSO and the residents of the towns it serves;

2) to review and recommend community policing policies, practices, training and education;

3) to aid in problem solving as needs arise; and

4) to address public safety concerns from a citizen’s perspective. 

Before inviting volunteers to become founding members of the CAC, probably sometime in the spring, the Steering Group wants to expand its size and diversity. 

The Steering Group is seeking several additional Lincoln County residents to join them in continuing the initial work.

Lincoln County residents who want to make a contribution to this initiative, are comfortable with candid conversation, open to differing opinions and can hold themselves accountable to confidentiality and collaboration are invited to let the Steering Group know. They can do that by emailing their name, physical address, phone number, email address, occupation and a few sentences about why they would like to serve on the Steering Group to steeringgroup@lincounty.me. Questions to the Steering Group are also welcome at this email address.

The Steering Group will review and contact interested candidates by mid-February 2022.

Watch for an LCTV program this Thursday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. as well as Sunday, Jan. 30 at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Also, be on the lookout for more published information here and on social media outlets.