Episode 210: Interview with David Corbett, Candidate for York County Sheriff
What if the county jail actually sent people home better than they came in? David Corbett, Republican candidate for York County Sheriff, lays out a plan built around community corrections, faith-based recovery, and ending forced overtime for jail staff. Chuck Ellis sits down with David, a Lyman resident with a long career in Maine law enforcement, including work with the Saco and Biddeford police departments and the York County Sheriff’s Office as an investigator, corrections officer, and road deputy. He went on to spend about 13 years as a professor of criminal justice, holds a master’s in public administration, and is also a clergyman. This is his third run for sheriff, and he explains why he stepped up when no Republican was on the ballot. They discuss:
- Civil discourse and his open offer to sit down for coffee with anyone, critics included
- Why he says the Suboxone policy in county jails is keeping inmates addicted
- “Community corrections”: clergy, churches, and volunteers helping inmates inside the jail and after release
- Why faith-based recovery works and how lives can be transformed
- Ending forced 16-hour shifts for corrections officers and building a deeper bench
- Staffing, morale, and who should run the jail, the sheriff or the union contract
- Trained, vetted citizen volunteers, community policing, and the castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws
- More treatment facilities to get people with serious mental illness out of jails
- A sheriff’s cadet program for teens ages 14 to 18
- Diverting young people from the juvenile justice system
- His push for federal transparency on the fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford