BOURNE – A suspended program that allowed the Barnstable County Correctional Facility to take pre-arraignment detainees has resumed.
The Safe Keep program was paused for three years due to COVID, and resumed just before Memorial Day weekend.
Several police chiefs, including Eastham’s Adam Bohannon, said they have few officers or spaces to spare for holding detainees over long periods.
“We were all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for it to come back,” said Eastham Police Chief Adam Bohannon.
“We have 17 police officers here from top to bottom. We don’t have a lot of officers to spare. If we have to hold someone for a long weekend, we are not really set up for it. It is a huge draw on our staff.”
Harwich Deputy Police Chief Kevin Considine said with a recent drop in police officer recruitment, it can be challenging to find staff hours to monitor detainees without using overtime.
“We are thrilled that program is back. We’ve been asking for that for a while now and we’re thrilled that the sheriff has listened to what we were asking. It’s a huge benefit to all of our communities,” said Considine.
With medical staff, a kitchen, and specifically trained correctional officers, the chiefs added that the County Correctional Facility is more suited to the task of detention than local stations.
About Grady Culhane
