Maxwell Smith
Photo: Lee Burnett
By Lee Burnett
The owner of a new security patrol business in Sanford sure looks ready for danger. Maxwell Smith wears a bulletproof vest adorned with a pistol, stun gun, pepper spray, and body cam. “We’re the real deal,” he said.
For $20 per patrol, Smith, who lives in Springvale, will drive by or walk through your property and check doors and gates, high-risk areas, perimeters and access points. If there’s anything amiss, he’ll provide an incident report. Photo and video documentation are also available.
He said the police-type gear is “absolutely” needed on occasion.
“We have the right to physically remove someone from the property,” he said.
Smith is trained in use of firearms and de-escalation techniques and is licensed by Maine State Police. He notified the Sanford Police Department of his business and began advertising on Facebook last week.
While he has no Sanford clients yet, he sees an opportunity in the incidence of low-level crime.
“The crime statistics tell me,” he said. “The homeless population brings in trespassing, theft, illegal dumping, and camping. Obviously, open drug use, fights. It all puts a property owner at risk of liability lawsuits.”
One property manager in Sanford said he has not found a need to hire private security but understands why others might.
“There’s a real problem with nuisance crime,” said Brian Samia, who manages 80 apartments and rental housing in southern Maine. “If you have an urban dumpster or porta-potty, or anything someone can sleep in, there’s definitely a need for extra attention.” He, for example, has installed locks on all common doors to prevent people from sleeping in hallways and basements.
Smith has worked in security since 2012, part of that time co-owning a business with a partner. He said clients have included apartment complexes, summer camps and a marina as well as the Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival and the State of Maine Airshow. He employs five people and sub-contracts with others.
Dealing with disorder crimes associated with homelessness has been a theme.
One current client is St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen in Portland. The soup kitchen credits Smith for maintaining a calm atmosphere.
“Most days are perfectly fine, and I wonder why we are paying him, but every once in a while, something happens,” explains Barbara Guffin, secretary for the organization that serves hot meals every weekday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. One recent lunchtime, for example, was disrupted by an escalating commotion started by a support dog startled by a loud noise. “It was crazy,” she said. Guffin said the “good atmosphere” at St. Vincent is a contrast to another soup kitchen where she’s worked. “When things go wrong, it’s pretty scary,” she said.
Smith also worked for the Comfort Inn in Scarborough in 2022, when all 60 rooms were rented out for most of a year for unhoused people. The Scarborough Town Council had required the hiring of private security after calls to the Scarborough Police Department skyrocketed the first month. “I had a very good relationship with Scarborough PD,” asserts Smith. That was confirmed by Scarborough Police Chief Mark Holmquist, who said Smith’s company provided a proactive monitoring presence that dramatically reduced police calls. “It worked for us,” he said.
Smith has yet to have much interaction with Sanford Police.
“I’ve had a couple of emails with Max,” said Deputy Chief Matthew Gagne. Gagne said he understands the desire for additional security, although he says it’s not a substitute for law enforcement. “I don’t fault any business that wants to bolster their own level of security. If a business wants to feel safer, this gives them a set of eyes.” Gagne said Sanford would like to be notified of Smith’s clients so in the event of an incident responding officers won’t be surprised by an armed individual. While Smith advertises his coordination with police, Gagne said “that’s a misnomer … We’re not working together.”
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