A group known as No Penobscot County Jail Expansion is campaigning against a local ballot measure that would relocate the current county jail to a new facility in Hampden.
Group member Larry Dansinger argued that the current county jail is overcrowded, saying, “Vote no. Send a message to the county commissioners: we don’t want a new jail. We want fewer people in the jail, and we want money to be used instead for diversion, and not another high bill for county taxpayers.”
According to Penobscot County Commissioner Dave Marshall, while the jail has the capacity to hold 157 inmates, on average it holds 60 additional inmates daily. The building last underwent major upgrades 40 years ago, and Marshall said that it is not designed to help those with mental illness or substance-abuse issues, something the new facility would provide.
Doug Dunbar, another member of the No Penobscot County Jail Expansion group, claimed that instead of building a new facility, the current jail should be improved and cleaned up. Dunbar, notably, was arrested for multiple drunk driving incidents in the previous decade. This culminated in a 2017 arrest that led to him being incarcerated for 136 days, part of which he spent in Penobscot County Jail. Since becoming sober, he has argued for the elimination of cash bail.
Activists in the group have consistently brought up their view of increased funding of diversion and treatment programs as a panacea that will reduce the prison population. Member Aaron Pyle claimed that with such investment, “That would solve the overcrowding issues and if we got the population under 50 wouldn’t that mean that we don’t need a new jail.” The group has made no reference to the deterrent and preventative effects of jail time on crime.
County officials have taken pains to emphasize that building the new facility is not inconsistent with funding programs attempting to keep people out of jail. Sheriff Troy Morton mentioned that he supports such programs, while arguing that a more modern, efficient jail facility would prove more cost-effective in the long run.
