Page 14 - 2019 Annual Report_Classical

Major Timothy Kortes

The mission of the Cumberland County Jail is to provide
a healthy, safe, secure and humane environment for all
inmates whether they have been accused or convicted of
crimes. The Cumberland County Jail is the largest county
jail in the state of Maine and processed approximately 6,800
arrestees in 2019. Our average daily population in 2019 was
400 inmates per day.

It has been a very busy and productive year at the Cumberland County Jail. In January, I was hired
as the Jail Administrator filling a much needed role at the Jail. During the year we have made many
changes to become more efficient and to follow best practices from the field. Additionally, we also began
work on establishing a MAT (Medically Assisted Treatment) program within the facility in response to
the current opiate crisis.

We are a nationally accredited Jail with the American Correctional Association (ACA), and maintain
certification with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards demonstrating the commitment
by the Sheriff and every Corrections Officers that works in this facility. We also obtained our 6th
reaccreditation with ACA with a score of 99.3% this included for the first time the Community
Corrections Center as part of the accreditation process. We continue to maintain our PREA compliance
by continuing reevaluate and implement best practice from the field. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s
Office has always had a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse and sexual harassment. These are
examples of our commitment to excellence as we adhere to the best practices and highest standards.

We had numerous functions throughout the year that included a Volunteer Awards Dinner and several
Dinners Behind Bars where by people from the public bid at local charity events to have dinner at the
jail. Additionally, we continue to be involved with Camp Postcard, Explorer events, Wreaths Across
America, many jail tours for Legislators and Criminal Justice professionals. The jail continues to work
with over 20 different outside organizations to assist inmates in release planning and programming.
Some examples are: Through These Doors, Amistad, AA, Cooperative Extension, NA, Smart Recovery,
My Sisters Keeper, Maine Humanities Council, University of New England, Veterans Administration,
Portland Recovery Community Center, Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, Planned
Parenthood, Trafficking Coalition of Maine, Good Shepherd’s Food Bank, Pam Leo (author and
parenting expert), Maine Pretrial Services and DHHS. Our Re-Entry Specialist continues to facilitate
successful inmate re-entry into the community from a Federal grant awarded in 2018.

We have completed many projects at the complex to include renovation of intake area and vending
machines were placed into all the general population housing units. We also have completed
construction in order to reopen the Special Management Recreational Area.

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