Training together brings better outcomes, law enforcement officers say
- Tammy L Wells
- Sep 4
- 5 min read
ALFRED - Each law enforcement agency in York County is autonomous, but they have much in common. They often work together, each doing their part to contribute to a case, helping bring perpetrators of crime to justice.
“We count on each other,” said York County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeremy Forbes of the county’s law enforcement agencies.
So it only makes sense that they train together, and that is poised to happen in the spring of 2026 when the specially built York County Regional Training Center for first responders is expected to begin offering programs in a brand new space off Layman Way in Alfred.
Saco Police Chief Jack Clements put it this way:
“York County has a county-wide mutual aid agreement,” Clements said. “We all need to train together so we can operate together when a critical incident happens anywhere in the county. The training center will provide uniform training for all of us. This facility is exactly what we need in York County.”
And while the need for local centralized training is true for all first responder disciplines – policing, corrections, fire, EMS, dispatching and emergency management providers – until now, it hasn’t been possible. In the law enforcement arena, departmental training managers schedule sessions at their own agencies at times, and accommodate some of their counterparts from other agencies if there is space. Other times, officers travel elsewhere – upwards of 100 miles in some cases, to receive required training – the latter resulting in extended hours of travel for the officer taking a mandatory class and the expense to the department of replacing that officer while they’re away.
The regional training center is coming together. Where heavy equipment cleared land 10 months ago, there is now a 44,000 square foot building with walls, floors, and stairs. Electrical wiring is continuing, drywall is being hung, sprinklers are being installed, and more. There is progress daily and weekly.
The new multi-discipline training center will sport a tactical center, a drill tower, 120-seat auditorium, a classrooms, a cafeteria, showers, a K9 wash station and more – like the ability for virtual reality scenarios.
There will be classes like the second phase of Maine’s law enforcement preservice training requirement that includes 80 hours of instruction on investigative procedure, arrest procedures, use of force and other topics. (The first phase is a 40-hour online program, and the third is 80 hours on-the -job).
As well, an enriched collaboration with York County Community College that began several years ago is expected.
"The county and the college are in discussions to strengthen the partnership and are looking at several education and training possibilities,” said County Fire Administrator Roger Hooper, who has been organizing hundreds of aspects of the training center, outfitting the building with appropriate equipment for the several disciplines, to liaising with contractor Landry French, scheduling fire and EMS cases, and discussing programming with the community college.
What the training center brings to law enforcement and the other disciplines is consistency and predictability and a location easily accessible to all users in York County and in the region beyond.
The county’s proximity to large population centers like Boston makes it more attractive to instructors who may be bringing training to other New England locations and could easily add Alfred to their repertoire, officers say.
“A location in southern Maine can draw a lot of training entities,” said Old Orchard Beach Police Capt. Anthony Ciampi, his department’s inhouse training coordinator. “The center takes the burden off individual agencies to hunt out and provide instruction, and it brings us together.”
There is definitely a need. Wells Police Capt. Kevin Chabot, who chairs the law enforcement District 1 Training Council, outlined a number of the current requirements. The training council helps assess regional need and sponsors classes.
“Police trainings have risen exponentially in the last 20 years,” said Chabot. “Aside from the basic law enforcement class of 720 hours, and the field training, which is typically 480 hours, we have 16 hours of mandatory annual Maine Criminal Justice Academy training for certified officers.” There are incident command classes, crisis intervention instruction, and a long list of required training on an array of other topics.
Forbes, Ciampi, Chabot, and Clements, among others, are members of the county training center committee, formed as York County Commissioners approved projects in which to invest the county’s $40.3 million allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act, approved by Congress to stimulate the post-covid economy. The training center and separate residential substance use recovery and treatment center are the two largest of an array of projects in which the county has invested ARPA funds. The training center and recovery centers also received separate funds designated by Congress, and grants.
“We deal with folks who are enduring some of the toughest days of their lives, whether it be mental health, substance abuse, or just confrontational, we need to prepare for the many directions a call for service can head,” Chabot said.
“What’s in it for all of us is a state-of-the-art training facility available to everyone in the region to have contemporary training that covers all facets of first responders,” said Ciampi.
Clements said the nature of training has changed since he began his law enforcement career in 1989, brought on by mass shootings in schools and mass shootings in general, among other factors.
“Police officers need to be adaptable to the changing environment,” said Clements, as do the other disciplines of first responders. “That is accomplished with training.”
Forbes said currently, the patchwork nature of training doesn’t allow for agencies to properly plan. With the regional approach from a centralized location, departments will know that specific mandatory courses will be scheduled in specific months of the year, allowing for better planning.
And, he said, the regional nature of the training center brings opportunities for the different disciplines, like EMS, dispatching and police to do so as well.
“When we train together, we have better outcomes,” Forbes said.
