Dixfield PD is a very active department handling approximately 2,400 complaints in 2001. We are also involved in many community activities. For further details on department activity, go to our page on Calls for Service or see our Activity Detail pages, complete with charts and graphs as well as detailed statistical information. DPD Press Releases are also available at that location.
The Dixfield PD has four Full-Time Patrol Officer positions to provide around-the-clock patrol of the town's streets and security for its businesses and public buildings. The Chief of Police is a "Working Chief" position as Chief Pickett performs normal patrol duties during his daily shifts as well as completing his duties as Chief of Police. Other positions include a Sergeant and two Patrol Officer positions. We also carry a compliment of approximately 10 Reserve Patrol Officers to fill out our personnel roster.
We are very active in the local schools including the Dixfield Elementary School, the Dirigo Middle School and the Dirigo High School. The Middle and High Schools are part of Maine School Administrative District #21 and serve the towns of Canton, Carthage and Peru in addition to Dixfield. We participate in programs that actively promote Seat Belt Safety, Bicycle Safety as well as facilitating the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program to encourage 5th Grade students to stay drug- and violence-free. We also work with other community members to organize and implement an annual Halloween Walk for kids in the Town of Dixfield as well as its neighboring towns.
Due to the geography of the Town of Dixfield, DPD maintains a good working relationship with the neighboring towns of Mexico, Rumford, Jay, and Wilton with which we have Mutual Aid agreements. We also seek to maintain a good working relationship with the Maine State Police, the Oxford County Sheriff's Office, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (Game Wardens) as well as the Maine Forestry Service.
Dispatch services are provided by the Rumford Police Department. Rumford PD also maintains a short-term holding facility where we process and hold most of our arrestees. Arrestees that need to be held beyond a 4- to 6-hour period are transported to the Oxford County Jail, located in South Paris. The Oxford County Jail is maintained and operated by the Oxford County Sheriff's Office.
We operate two marked police vehicles and one unmarked vehicle. The unmarked vehicle is frequently used to provide transportation to and from training programs. It is also used for special police activities that require the use of an unmarked police vehicle. We now have a Mountain Bike Patrol for special events and details, the bicycle having been donated to the DPD by a local business.
We believe in the philosophy of Community Policing and incorporate that philosophy into all programs, activites and daily police duty. For information on Community Policing, go to the Maine Community Policing Institute site. The Institute is a program of the University of Maine System. We also work consistently to develop and maintain a good rapport with the youth of the area.
DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) teaches students coping skills and encourages them to remain drug- and violence-free throughout their lifetimes.
No program is a guarantee that children will refuse to experiment with or use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The DARE program seeks to create and maintain strong relationships between students and the police department while teaching important safety lessons that we hope they will remember for a lifetime.
Of course, nothing takes the place of parental input in a child's life.