About Maine Department of Corrections
Maine Department of Corrections is responsible for the running, general administrative oversight, guiding, and planning of adult and juvenile correctional institutions in the state of Maine. The department is strategically located in Augusta, where it plays it plays a critical role in maintaining the safety of the state citizens. However, while the department handles criminals and their incarceration, it does not participate in enacting state laws.
MDOC is in charge of administrative control of the state's correctional establishments. It is divided into three divisions, which are all based in the headquarters in Augusta. Currently, it oversees six adult prisons and two juvenile correctional facilities. In addition to incarceration, the department also offers offenders empowerment programs. For instance, there is an industrial program that offers engraving, license plates, embroidery, woodshop, upholstery, clothing, wood harvesting, and reupholster services to the general public and other government agencies.
To serve its mission of keeping the community safe, the department employs many correctional officers. However, these have to go through intensive training sessions at least once a year before incorporation into the system.
The MDOC’s History
The first state prison in Maine was authorized in early 1823 and later built on a limestone quarry near Thomaston. In July 1824, this prison opened its doors to convicts sentenced to life imprisonment or a minimum of one year. This started as a maximum-security prison for adult criminals.
Initially, the facility could accommodate women, but in 1935 they were moved to Skowhegan's Women's Correctional Center. The state prison was expanded in 1854 after a fire burned it down in 1950.
The prison burned again in 1923 and was rebuilt in 1924. Parts of the prison have been created, restored, and modified to meet changing judicial and housing needs. A Mental Health Stabilization Unit (MHSU) was founded On January 5, 1998, and a Segregation Unit which was later relocated to Maine Correctional Institution. The MDOC's Mental Health Stabilization Unit (MHSDS) helped the facility achieve maximum individual functioning of severely mentally ill inmates in the least restrictive setting feasible while ensuring the prisoners and institution's safety and security.
The State Prison was moved near the Maine Correctional Institution in Warren in 2002 due to overcrowding, age, and lack of expansion space. With this move, Maine Correctional Institution became the Special Management Unit of Maine State Prison.
During the transition from Thomaston to Warren, the Maine State Prison operated at both sites quickly. This move was performed efficiently and rapidly using current prison staff, department employees, and state agencies.
The old Maine State Prison was disassembled following the migration, but the Maine State Prison Showroom was maintained, which remains open. The Native American Faith Group constructed a Smudge Lodge in 2004 on the site.
Maine Inmate Records
You can get any information about any offender in any correctional facility in the state of Maine. The MDOC keeps records include official information of criminals in local jails, state prisons, and other correctional facilities.
Inmate records provide the public access to information about an inmate's status in the correctional system. The inmate's records include the following information on the residents of MDOC:
- Names.
- Ages.
- Dates of birth.
- Charges.
- Sentence.
- The facility of incarceration.
- Race.
- Height.
- Occasionally a picture.
MDOC Search Services
This tool allows you to look for information on adult residents/adult community corrections clients in the MDOC system for free and in a convenient manner. The search function is accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The department updates the data in the search engine daily.
Anyone looking for information about active Maine adult residents or adult community prisons clients may visit the platform. However, you need to differentiate between Adult residents and Adult Community Correctional Residents.
An adult Resident is a prisoner under the care of the Maine DOC. Nonetheless, adult residents under the authority of the MDOC in other places, such as county prisons, other states, and federal institutions, are also available on the Website.
On the Other hand, an adult Community Corrections resident is any prisoner under the MDOC care on
- Probation.
- Supervised release for sex offenders.
- Supervised community confinement.
- Parole.
However, the information on the Website does not include all information about these residents; but, individuals may access the full information background of a criminal on the Online Public Criminal History Request tool.
The earliest custody release date is computed using detention time credit and all potential good time earned by the adult resident. It is assumed that the adult resident will get all possible good times under the appropriate time code and not lose any of them. Hence, to perform Maine DOC Prisoner Lookup, you have to possess a few details about the resident. That is:
- Name (First and Last Names.)
For the offender locator search, select one or more search options above to look up for Maine adult citizens or adult community corrections residents in the MDOC system. Fill in as many search boxes as possible to restrict your search.
The additional information that the Website requires includes:
- Gender
- Age range
- Weight range
- Height.
- Tattoos, Skin Marks, and Scars.
- Eye Colour
- Location
- Current status.
- Offense Type.
However, it is essential to note that individuals may not perform the offender locator search on the juveniles. This is because the Website does not include information on minors. In addition, in Maine, the Sex Offender search platform is responsible for the Main Department of Public Safety and not the MDOC.
However, through the MDOC inmate Search, individuals may access the sex offender registry.
Maine Sex Offender search
The MDOC keeps track of offenders doing time in state prisons in Maine (MDOC). The MDOC provides a consolidated prisoner database that is accessible easily and quickly. In Maine, however, county prisons, police cells, and municipal jails keep their prisoner records, which may be seen on their websites. Nonetheless, to check for prisoner details in any prison, follow the steps below.
The Maine State Police, State Bureau of Identification, maintains the Sex Offender Registry Website, which is designed to notify the public on the whereabouts of registered offenders presently in Maine.
The Registry does not include all of the people who have been convicted of sex offenses. Only persons obligated to register under Title 34-A MRSA, Chapters 15 and 17, will get information. Only those who have been punished for a qualified crime are eligible to register.
Users perform Searches either using a name or location. Hence, to perform a search, just indicate the sex offender's name and location to locate an offender living near your residence.
Maine State Prisoner Lookup
Using the free Maine Public Inmate data platform, individuals may perform a search for:
- Prisoner lookups.
- Jail rosters.
- Inmate listings.
- Maine Facility and prisoner locators.
- Inquiries.
- Current jail inmates.
On the Website, the links below will open in a new window and will lead you to third-party websites that allow access to Maine public documents. Regularly, editors monitor and verify these materials.
However, there is no information about offenders who have been released. In addition, certain offenders' information may not be available on this platform due to safety, security, or confidentiality considerations.
For Maine DOC Facility locator, visit the MDOC Facilities website. However, you will be required to indicate county, city, or zip code address to perform a search.
Victims Services
These services are to help crime victims know the whereabouts of their offenders. The MDOC offers these services to assist the victims of crime on different issues. These include the following:
- Sentencing Process.
- Expected Date of Publication.
- Confinement Facility.
- Restitution Status.
The victim notification statute covers victims of murder, a Class A, B, or C offense, or a Class D crime under Chapters 9, 11, and 12. Any victim who desires to receive notifications must submit a request to the prosecuting attorney's office. They may also contact the MDOC via telephone by calling (800) 968-6909 or (207) 287-4385.
However, the MDOC respects the victim's wishes. Hence, the services are voluntary and not mandatory. The MDOC will also inform the victims of the residents before work release, furlough, or release from incarceration.
Maine Prison Industries (MPIs)
The MDOC runs the Industries Program in five adult facilities. The primary mission is to supply high-quality items to the general public and other authorities while keeping as many inmates busy as possible. This also arms the inmates with skills that they can use when they leave incarceration.
The MPI is essentially a self-funded business. The Prison Industries Upholstery Shop is home to the state's only Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP). This federally approved program permits inmates to work for private businesses and exempts prisoner-made items from federal prohibitions in interstate commerce.
However, this strictly controlled program allows inmates to earn money used to reimburse the state for their housing and board costs and pay victim restitution and child support.
