Deborah Mitchell
Crime Prevention Specialist
Public Safety

Deborah Mitchell joined the University of Maine's Public Safety as a police officer after working at the University Farm and as a reserve officer for the Old Town Police Department. Those at the Farm told us that she was very pleasant, that she really wanted to be a Police Officer, and that Public Safety would benefit from having her as a member of our staff. Well, they were right!

Through the years, Deb has been involved in or led numerous campus-based public safety initiatives. One of the most visible and beneficial is the Rape Aggression Defense or R.A.D. Program, empowering women by teaching them how to physically defend themselves, become mentally strong, and self confident. Deb was the first police officer in Penobscot county to prosecute and win an acquaintance sexual assault case.

She is also an All Maine Woman, a Golden Key National Honor Society member as well as a past Presidential Award and also Steven Gould Award winner. She is certified in teletype operation and in emergency medical dispatch, qualifying her to work as a communications coordinator as well as a police officer. Deb was the third Crime Prevention Officer within Public Safety, having been especially trained at the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Kentucky. Then there was the “Wonder Woman” article in the Maine Campus, a clear statement about how students thought of her in a wonderfully positive way.

Deb is now a Police Sergeant, and though the job has changed a lot over the years, she still gives it her “all”.

Deb, thank you for your 25 years of service to the University of Maine!