PORTLAND, ME— In the last week and a half, six shootings have occurred in southern Maine, including Portland, South Portland, Auburn, and Lewiston.
Maine law enforcement officers and district attorneys agree that in some cases, children are to blame for the recent increase in shooting incidents. Furthermore, they stated that investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies have discovered that adult criminals are frequently the masterminds behind juvenile criminal activity.
Cumberland County District Attorney Jackie Sartoris clarified that, while shootings have increased in the state, national data show that violent crime has decreased.
Sartoris stated that violent crime is a national issue, and that Maine is neither immune nor exempt.
“If there is criminal activity that is going on some place, then it is at some point going to be emulated everywhere else,” Mr. Sartoris said.
According to Sartoris, organized juvenile crime in Maine has been relatively low until recently. When law enforcement investigates shootings, they uncover evidence that small groups of people organize crime.
“We are now being challenged by a new type of crime. We’re seeing kids who are being used by adults to commit criminal acts that they would never consider on their own, and the adults are taking advantage of Maine’s relatively lenient juvenile justice system to bring these kids in as co-perpetrators,” she explained.
Sartoris stated that adults with a criminal history are familiar with the judicial system and are aware that juveniles do not face the same consequences as adults who are charged with a crime.
Some of the children committing crimes range in age from 15 to 18.
Sartoris explained that Maine has long preferred rehabilitation over incarceration and detention for children who commit crimes.
“It’s not that adults never influenced juveniles previously,” Sartoris clarified. “It’s that these juveniles have access to guns, and guns are starting to become tools of the trade.”
Det. Lt. Nick Goodman of the Portland Police Department described the cycle as frustrating. He stated that gathering evidence that sticks and successfully holds criminal adults who recruit children for violent crimes responsible for conspiracy can be a time-consuming process. He went on to say that conspiracy charges frequently result in short prison sentences.
“As a parent, you should know what your children are talking about on their cell phones. If my 17-year-old son is on the phone with a 45-year-old male, I want to know why,” Goodman said. “Those are questions that parents should be asking to get in front of this.”
He stated that he believes children need more positive mentors.
“We want to start at home. We want to start in schools. “We want to start in the diversion programs before they get to a one o’clock morning drive-by at a house,” Goodman said. “Again, we’ve failed at that point.”
Goodman has been on the job for over ten years. He stated that he began to notice an increase in teen crimes after student resource officers were removed from schools between 2019 and 2020.
“The diversion programs are massive. “The interactions with police officers are massive,” Goodman stated. “We had those before, but we don’t have them anymore. And you cannot call it a coincidence.”
Goodman explained that he wants to reach out to children and intervene before adults with bad intentions do.
Goodman stated that he believes judicial reform that imposes harsher penalties for children who commit violent crimes, as well as the reintroduction of police diversion programs that are accessible to youth, would be steps in the right direction.
According to Sartoris, children are easily influenced, and a lack of mentorship and wealth disparities exacerbate the situation.
“As we see big disparities in the haves and the have nots in this country, as we see what feels like lawlessness from some of our top leaders in this country, there is less respect for the rule of law,” Mr. Sartoris said.
“There is less respect for following the rules if what you observe is that other people can have vast quantities of wealth and influence and lack of personal ethics, and you’re supposed to follow the rules even though that doesn’t get you far ahead.”