ALFRED — Chief Deputy William “Bill” King, now second in command at York County Sheriff’s Office, is looking to be York County’s top cop. He is scheduled to announce his candidacy for sheriff in the Democratic primary at a reception in Biddeford Saturday.

King, 60, of Saco, who worked for 26 years for the Office of the Inspector General of the federal justice department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency before moving back to Maine in 2008, said he’s ready to take on the job and the challenges it presents.

The York County Sheriff’s Office encompasses rural patrol, York County Jail and civil process. Altogether, approximately 110 employees and half a dozen civil process servers, who are independent contractors, work for the agency. On any given day, there are upwards of 200 inmates housed at the jail.

“I feel I can make such a great difference here,” said King, Monday. “We really are on a good progression, and I am well poised to continue this positive movement.”

Besides, he said, he loves the work.

King, who joined the sheriff’s office in 2010 after a stint as program coordinator for the criminal justice program at Central Maine Community College, is in a three-way race in the June 10 Democratic primary. Also vying for the spot are longtime South Berwick Police Chief Dana Lajoie and Paul Main of Alfred, who worked for the sheriff’s office for 18 years and retired after a seven-year stint in security for Southern Maine Medical Center.

So far, no Republicans have registered their intent to seek their party’s nomination with the Maine Ethics Commission. Party candidates must submit nomination papers to the Secretary of State’s Office by March 17. 

King is perhaps best known, locally and beyond, for his vigilance in fighting financial scams originating in Jamaica that prey on the elderly, including the case of an Arundel woman bilked out of more than $80,000. He’s met with government officials there and testified before a U.S. Senate committee on the subject in 2013. Since then, the Jamaican government passed laws addressing the scams, although the scams continue.

York County Sheriff’s Office patrol division has primary responsibility for nine of the 14 rural towns without their own police departments. And while he said he’s thankful Maine State Police Troop A has the other five, King said the decision to enter into the call-sharing agreement was made out of necessity; the sheriff’s office, with 24 deputies, just doesn’t have the resources to adequately serve the 48,000 citizens in the 520 square miles the 14 rural towns comprise. Even with the call-sharing agreement in place, the sheriff’s office must be positioned to step in if troopers get called away to other parts of the state, he said.

He said officers are taxed, and many are required to work “ungodly” amounts of overtime.

“We’re fortunate to have the staff we have,” he said.

King said rural patrol has a high clearance rate when it comes to felony crimes as counted in the Uniform Crime Reporting System: The clearance rate for burglaries is 50 percent, as compared to 18 percent of burglaries solved nationally.

Armed with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Maine, King began his career at Portland Police Department, made sergeant and trained there as a polygraph examiner. He joined the federal Drug Enforcement Agency after three years with the Central Intelligence Agency, and in 1988, came back to Maine as assistant director of public safety, where he assisted in developing the Bureau of Intergovernmental Drug Enforcement.

Then came 20 years with the Office of the Inspector General, where, among other tasks, he restructured a field office in Tucson, Ariz. and another in Atlanta, Ga. His job also entailed internal affairs investigations ”“ work that took him inside the federal prison system.

He said his work in federal prisons has shown him how valuable the job of a corrections officer is, and how officers have to stay vigilant. King said he plans to elevate the role of corrections officers and to make the sheriff’s office ”“ which includes the jail ”“ one entity.

“My goal is never to have to hire from outside for police services,” he said, instead hiring candidates from the ranks of corrections staff who apply. Conversely, he said, if someone in rural patrol wants a job with more stable hours, for example, that individual could transition to the jail.

He said he plans to work with the National Employees Correctional Union and the County Patrol Association.

King said if elected, he’ll establish a “Success Committee,” consisting of police officers from the offender’s hometown, clergy, a family member, corrections staff and others to provide support ”“ a shoulder for the inmate to lean on ”“ when released.

King is married, and has two adult children and one grandson.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.