This story was published by Portland Press Herald. View the story online through the link below or read a snippet copied from the article, below.
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/05/14/data-shows-wide-geographic-disparity-of-yellow-flag-usage-across-maine/
Clinton police Chief Stanley Bell can’t pinpoint exactly why his team has used Maine’s yellow flag law so much more often than other departments.
The Kennebec County agency, which employs just three full-time officers and a handful of part-timers, has executed the process 12 times in the past year to temporarily confiscate the weapons of individuals deemed an imminent threat to themselves or others.
…
Like Bell, several police leaders who spoke with the Press Herald struggled to explain the pattern.
With few exceptions, mental health professionals and courts virtually always approve police officers’ yellow flag requests, according to data provided by Spurwink, the provider that conducts most of the required mental health evaluations.
…
