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“Community oriented policing” is the University of Maine’s Public Safety Department’s motto.
“The police don’t stand alone on this campus,” said Noel March, UMaine’s chief of police of eight years. “UMaine students are the ones who look out for each other more than anyone else.”
March has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be Maine’s next U.S. Marshal.
Rep. Michael Michaud recommended March for the position, and his nomination is now up for approval by the U.S. Senate. With the Senate’s many other concerns, such as health care reform, March is uncertain when he will be informed of its decision.
Between jokes about Tommy Lee Jones and Wyatt Earp, March said the U.S. Marshals Service is the oldest federal policing organization in the country. The agency is responsible for the capture of more than half of all federal fugitives.
Established in 1789 by George Washington, the Marshals Service’s responsibilities include protecting federal judicial officials, investigating federal fugitives, running the Witness Security Program, transporting convicts, and seizing and destroying illegally acquired property.
In April 2009, a representative for Michaud asked March to submit his résumé for consideration for U.S. Marshal. March was certain that, as a Republican, he would not be nominated. According to March, the representative assured him that Michaud was “more interested in what is in a person’s resume than who is in their Rolodex.”
“It’s a point of pride, professionally, for me,” March said of the nomination.
Because U.S. Marshals are appointed by each president, the agency is now going through a mass rehiring process. A marshal is appointed for each 94 federal judicial district. The senior member of congress in each district who is of the same political party as the president submits nominations.
Before coming to UMaine, March was director of the Maine Community Policing Institute, chief deputy sheriff of Cumberland County, a member of the 2002 Olympic Police Force in Salt Lake City and assistant vice president for MBNA. He is a graduate of the University of New England and the FBI National Academy.
March’s policing philosophy lends itself to serving what he calls “the city of UMaine.”
“You’ll never hear me say ‘force,’” March said. “‘Force’ is the wrong word for what we do.”
March takes pride in his work, displaying an obvious love for the university and its students. He thinks of the campus as its own town – the Memorial Union as a commercial district, residence hall quads as neighborhoods, and students as citizens. March pointed out that the campus has its own zip code, ambulance service, phone line and certified police officers.
March’s purview includes, as he is apt to recite, 210 buildings – 19 of which are residence halls – six miles of paved road, 2,400 employees and 12,000 students, who represent 74 countries and 48 states.
To encourage his officers to connect with the UMaine community, he gives officers “deeds” to buildings they are assigned to patrol. This gives officers a sense of ownership of their assigned areas and charges them with the task of befriending the people there.
Although March thinks of UMaine as a city, he insists that the university is, above all else, an institution of learning. He is impressed by the research and studies that go on at UMaine and has had several encounters with famous visitors the university has brought in.
“I’ve shared a pizza with Whoopi Goldberg,” March said. “I spent an afternoon driving Dan Rather … around Bangor looking for a clean shirt.”
