A second attempt to abolish the controversial Maine State Police Unit, also known as the Maine Information and Analysis Center, has gained the bipartisan support of top lawmakers Democratic House Speaker Rachel Talbot and Republican House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham. The effort to disband the state agency, however, faces opposition from Gov. Janet Mills and police agencies.
According to the Bangor Daily News, the first attempt to shut down the agency occurred in 2021 after it experienced a data breach that leaked hundreds of documents online. It also gained attention during a whistleblower lawsuit that brought to light the center’s handling of private data. The House supported eliminating the center in 2021 but the bill failed to pass in the Senate.
According to the new proposed bill, eliminating the center would cut six jobs and alleviate $800,000 in state costs in 2023-2024.
The unit was created in 2006 by Gov. John Baldacci in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The creation of the center was a way for police units to analyze and share intelligence between the government and state and local agencies.
The center came under scrutiny in 2020 when an activist group published over a million files stolen from police departments nationwide online, including hundreds of documents from the Maine State Police unit.
The leak showed the Maine intelligence center’s close watch over the 2020 police brutality and racism protests as well as identifying information of suspects never charged with a crime. The documents also made public the names of abuse victims and victims who had experienced an overdose.
In a 2022 lawsuit the agency was found guilty of violating Maine’s Whistleblower Protection Act, which drew public attention to the unit’s data-sharing practices. The lawsuit claimed that a state trooper was removed from their task force when he alleged the unit’s practices involved illegal spying in 2018.
The Mills administration say they oppose shutting down the agency because they believe shared information between law enforcement and the private sector is crucial in maintaining public safety.
