Services
The Orono Police Department provides a variety of services to help keep you safe.
- The Good Morning Program
- Citizen’s Police Academy
- Drug Disposal
- TRIAD
- Property Watch Program
- Women’s Self Defense Program
Good Morning Program
The Orono Police Department is pleased to sponsor the “Project Good Morning” Program. This program is designed to assist senior citizens or adults with disabilities living alone in the community. The goal is to assist these people so that they can continue living an independent lifestyle. “Project Good Morning” will aid in eliminating many concerns families may have about loved ones that live alone. The program provides the security of knowing that the family member will have a source of daily contact. Click for more information.
About the program
This program is free of charge. Residents may be eligible for this program if they are a senior citizen or adult with disabilities living alone. A short application must be completed and a waiver signed. This will provide us with some basic information about the participant. Upon completion of this application, the participant will call the Orono Police Department daily between 8 AM and 10 AM to say, “good morning”. If a police receptionist does not receive a call by 10 AM the participant will be called directly. If contact cannot be made by telephone, a police officer will be sent to check the welfare of the participant. On days that the police department’s reception is not staffed i.e. certain holidays, Penobscot County Regional Communications will answer your call.
Who is Eligible?
• Orono residents
• Senior Citizens who are 60 and older and are living alone.
• Disabled adults living alone
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any charge for this program?
No. This program is a free service provided by the Orono Police Department
How can I participate in this program?
Call or stop by the Orono Police Department and complete the enrollment application and waiver. Expect to make a daily call to the “Good Morning” receptionist.
What if I have a Lifeline?
This program compliments Lifeline in that it ensures a daily check in. Lifeline triggers immediate assistance in an emergency.
Citizen’s Police Academy
The Orono Police Department has found that education has been most effective in gaining understanding and support from the community. The Citizen’s Police Academy offers citizens insights into how police officers perform their duties and how the department serves the community. Click for more information.
The purpose of the Citizen’s Police Academy is to foster better communication between the citizens of the Town of Orono and its police through education. The Academy will create a nucleus of well-informed citizens who possess greater insight into police practices and services. Graduates of the Academy can share their knowledge and experiences with the community as the opportunity arises. Everyone benefits from enhancing citizen understanding of the role and function of their police department.
It is our hope that the graduates will become partners with us in identifying problems and solutions to the crime issues that are affecting our community. Graduates will gain knowledge that they can implement to enhance the quality of life in their respective neighborhoods. Graduates of this course will not be police officers, but will be better-informed citizens.
Course Description
Instruction consists of one 3-hour class held each week for a duration of six weeks. This instruction is comprehensive, covering a different aspect of police work each week. Certified police officers from the Orono Police Department will conduct each topic. Classes are limited to 20 citizen attendees. All classes are free!
Presentations will consist of lectures, demonstrations, videos, computer presentations, and “hands on” participation. Each participant will be given the opportunity to ride with an officer for one shift.
Course Curriculum
• Laws of Arrest/Search and Seizure
• Use of Force
• Patrol Operations
• Domestic Violence Investigation
• Maine Criminal Laws
• Maine Motor Vehicle Laws
• Investigations
• Crime Scene Processing
• Juveniles
• Drugs & Alcohol Offenses
• Community Policing
• Officer Safety
• Police Ethics
Who may apply?
Any interested citizen who resides and/or works in the town of Orono is encouraged to apply. Citizens involved in the Orono Community in some way, such as youth involvement or neighborhood groups are very important to the Academy. Citizens must be 18 years of age or older to attend, have no prior felony convictions and have no prior misdemeanor convictions within the previous 3 years. Applicants must pass a background check conducted by the Orono Police Department prior to approval.
When is the Academy?
The Academy will be offered twice a year, once in the spring and once again in the fall. Classes will be held at the Orono Public Safety building.
How do I apply?
Interested persons may apply by picking up an application packet at the Orono Police Department at 63 Main Street. For more information, Please contact Sergeant Scott Wilcox at 866-4000.
Prescription Drug Collection / Disposal
The Orono Police Department would like to remind the citizens of Orono about our medication return service. We would like to encourage people to use this opportunity to discard your outdated or unused prescriptions and over the counter medications. This is your opportunity to clean out the medicine cabinet. If medications are expired or no longer being used please use this service to help your community and the environment. The Attorney General of Maine has provided a few good reasons to get rid of these medications. Medicines are often ineffective when kept past their expiration date. A person’s home may become a target for a burglary or theft by drug abusers. Unwanted prescriptions left around the house could be found and ingested by children, resulting in accidental poisoning. Click for more information.
If someone would like to turn in these medications they can come to the Orono Police Department and hand them over. We want people to feel comfortable with this process and will be trying to make it as convenient as possible. We will not be asking any questions from the person making the drop off. We do recommend the following:
• Use a black magic marker to cross off personal information on the container.
• When the medications are turned in please have them in the original vial, a sealed plastic bag or even a small grocery bag.
• Please no needles or liquid medications will be accepted.
If anyone has any questions please contact the Orono Police Department at 866-4000 during the day or 866-4451 anytime and an officer will try to any your question. Lets work together to keep our community safe.
TRIAD
TRIAD began in Washington D.C in 1988 and was comprised of several different law enforcement entities. The organization has grown over time. The Penobscot County Triad Coalition, one of several in the state, began in 1999. It’s an organization which includes law enforcement, senior citizens, AARP and social service organizations. Penobscot County Triad Coalition works to fight and prevent crime and fraud against seniors.
The original goal of the coalition was to educate seniors about various types of fraud and crime, to help reduce fear and provide moral support for older persons and to use trained volunteers to assist police and sheriff’s departments.
Property Watch Program
When you are planning to be out of town or away from your home for a period of time, the Orono Police Dept. will periodically check your residence and notify you or your designee if any serious problems are discovered. Click for more information.
Just fill out our House Check Request form (click on the link below) and e-mail the completed form to jmason@orono.org, or come in to the Orono Police Dept. and complete the form in person. If you have mobility issues, please call 866-4000 and a form will be mailed to you. Mail the completed form to the Orono Police Dept., 63 Main St., Orono, ME 04473, or call and an officer will come to your residence and pick it up. We request that you contact us immediately upon returning home, so that we can remove your property from our list of active house checks. Houses that are for sale, rent, under construction, or being renovated are excluded from this program. The Orono Police Dept. also reserves the right to refuse certain requests for various reasons, i.e. safety concerns, property accessibility, occupied residences. Here are some safety tips:
- Be sure to give your home the appearance of being occupied while your away by:
- Putting lights, a radio, and even the TV on timers.
- Arranging for your lawn to be cared for.
- Have a trusted neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers, or have delivery suspended during your absence.
- Make sure that your doors are locked.
- Leave a key with a trusted neighbor, friend, or relative.
- NEVER hide a key on your property; criminals are good at guessing hiding spots
- If you choose to have a neighbor care for your home while you’re away, make sure they know how to contact you in case of an emergency.
Women’s Self Defense Program
The Women’s Self Defense Program we offer will help give women the security and peace of mind in knowing that they can dramatically increase the chances of surviving/avoiding a violent attack. The ability to protect themselves, their friends and their family from dangerous situations is priceless.
The Women’s Self Defense Program is a comprehensive course that begins with classroom instruction in risk awareness, risk reduction, crime prevention strategies, and defensive concepts followed by hands-on training in physical defense techniques. Class instruction and demonstrations will allow you to decrease your vulnerability and give you a new sense of confidence.Click for more information.
What Do We Do?
We review Maine’s statutes on self-defense and use of force. A survival mindset, the physiological and psychological factors of a confrontation, and ways to prevent becoming a victim are covered in the lecture portion of the class.
We teach class participants to avoid putting themselves in potentially dangerous situations and to recognize potential threats as early as possible.
We emphasize simple, yet effective methods when it comes to the actual self-defense techniques. We have found these methods to work best as they are quickly learned and easily retained. We teach the students to maintain a “reactionary gap” if confronted by a threat or to create space between themselves and attacker.
Some of the skills taught will include strikes to vulnerable areas, as well as escapes from choke holds, body grabs, wrist grasps, and defense techniques from the ground. Physical defense techniques that are easily learned, applied, and retained for all age and skill levels are taught. Students have the opportunity to test their new self defense skills in a simulated and controlled environment.
Who is eligible?
Any woman age 16 and older. Preference will be give to any woman who lives, works or goes to school in the Town of Orono.
Will it hurt?
The training is physical in nature and does require some degree of mobility. To reduce the potential for injury, students practice the techniques on pads, striking bags and mats.
When is the Self Defense Program?
Typically, we try to hold two classes per year, one in the spring and the other in the fall. Class size is limited to approximately 20 students. Classes will be held at the Orono Public Safety building from 6pm to 8pm one evening a week for 6 weeks.
Is there a fee for this course?
No. This program is a FREE service provided by the Orono Police Department.
How do I apply?
Interested persons may apply by picking up an application packet at the Orono Police Department at 63 Main Street. For more information, please visit the Orono Police Department’s Facebook page or contact Sergeant Scott Lajoie at 866-4000 or slajoie@orono.org .
Kid Safe Program
The Orono Police Department is creating a new program to assist those in our community who may have special needs. In the case of a missing child, it is always essential that law enforcement is able to respond quickly. It is even more critical when children with special needs go missing, since there are disabilities that create a greater challenge for responding law enforcement to understand and communicate effectively with the missing child. Click for more information.
We understand that there are certain “triggers” that may assist our officers to communicate with a special needs child. Maybe the child is non-verbal and there are other types of communication methods used that would be essential information to know. Sometimes a child may react negatively to people in uniform, wearing hats, emergency lighting, etc. The child may have a tendency to gravitate towards bodies of water, like individuals on the autism spectrum.
It is our goal to attain as much upfront information pertaining to a child with special needs as possible, since time is of the essence when dealing with a missing child. We have developed an information packet to be completed by any parent or guardian of a special needs child who would like to place their information within our secured law enforcement database that would allow our officers to immediately access pertinent information about your child in case it is needed.
With all of the advances in technology, all of our vehicles are now equipped with mobile data terminals (computers). This will allow our officers responding to a call of a missing child to look up all of the provided information in the packets prepared by the parents or guardians. Officers will have instant access to aerial photos of your neighborhood or child’s school, a recent photo of your child, and specific information pertaining to your child’s special needs just by checking their name file.
All of the information that will be available to our officers will assist the supervisor on-duty to coordinate a more in depth search if necessary. This information will be kept confidential and will only be available to law enforcement officers and public safety dispatchers. In the event that a call is received regarding a registered individual the information provided will immediately be brought to the attention of the responding officers.
Obviously, it would be nice if we never had to use any of this information. However, in the event that we do, we are in hopes that our preparation will provide us with the greatest opportunity to be successful in keeping our citizens safe. Anyone wishing to participate in this program can fill out the necessary forms and release. Any questions please feel free to reach us at 866-4000 or by email at ddinsmore@orono.org.