ALFRED — When Lt. David Lambert was a young fellow, he wasn’t looking for a career in law enforcement.

But he found one at York County Jail and 30 years on, he’s still at it ”“ and glad about it. Lambert oversees all jail programming ”“ from arranging Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, welding programs and high school equivalency classes to scheduling lawyers to see their clients and more. During the course of that part of his job, he could be doing a background check on a prospective teacher, or any number of associated tasks.

He’s also the supervisor for inmate classifications, operating with a staff of two to determine whether an incoming inmate will be housed in the minimum, medium or maximum housing unit and oversees the work release program. As well, he calculates sentences, determining when a prisoner will be released, based on the sentence handed up by a judge and factors like earned good time.

It’s a job that has structure but at the same time is ever-changing, depending on what’s happening, and that variety makes it exciting, Lambert said.

Lambert didn’t start out as a a lieutenant but as a corrections officer. When he first arrived at the jail on Jan. 15, 1985, Lambert, of Saco, said he didn’t know what to expect.

“I fell in love with the job,” he said in a recent interview. And while he may be marking 30 years, the 52-year-old has no plans to retire. “I feel like I just walked in the door the other day,” he said.

Inmates at York County Jail are, for the most part, folks sentenced to short amounts of incarceration that numbers days or months. Others, who are incarcerated there for longer periods, are those awaiting trial and unable to make bail, or awaiting trial with no bail allowed.

Lambert knows that those with short sentences likely won’t be there long enough to complete a high school equivalency course. But taking classes while incarcerated might create a spark in an inmate, and those about to be released are given information on how they can continue the classes in their hometowns.

It’s the same with AA meetings, and other programs.

“I know every inmate can’t leave with something positive,” Lambert said. “But if AA or counseling or Bible study can leave an inmate with a grasp of something that gets them started on the outside, it’s worth it. If one person gets it, it’s worth it.”

Lambert graduated from Thornton Academy and went to work at a local shoe shop. His buddies, Brian Maddox and Raymond “Tank” Moreau, were both working there ”“ Maddox still does ”“ and had suggested he apply, but Lambert said he was earning more money in manufacturing at the time. A couple of years later, the shoe shop closed, and Lambert applied at the jail.

Things were different then. For one, Lambert’s tenure began at the old Route 4 jail, on the 3-11 p.m. shift. At that time, the number of inmates in custody numbered in the low 30s and on Christmas day, the statistics were even lower, about nine to 12. Those low counts didn’t last over time, and after a couple of building additions, boarding York County prisoners in other county jails and another addition, a new York County Jail was built. Inmates were moved to the new jail in January 2004 . Now the prisoner census is regularly 200 to 240 a day or more.

Correction officer training is different, too. Lambert said when he was hired 30 years ago, he reported to his sergeant, who told him to follow Maddox on the job for one 3-11 shift. His second shift, he was told to grab a radio and a set of keys and go to work. It wasn’t until after he had completed six months probation that he was assigned to a two-week training course at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

These days, training academies are held onsite, and corrections officers train for several weeks ”“ and job shadow another officer for several more ”“ before they’re allowed to venture onto the floor on their own.

“We provide more services, more programming now,” said Lambert, who began overseeing programming 15 or 16 years ago, while at the old jail. The old building just simply didn’t have the space.

He sums up his feeling for his chosen profession this way:

“I enjoy the job and I enjoy dealing with the inmates and the staff,” he said. “And as long as I enjoy it, I plan to continue.”

The jail staff paused on Lambert’s 30th anniversary last month to congratulate him on his years of service.

Sheriff Bill King on Thursday remarked on Lambert’s tenure.

“Lt. Lambert has 30 years of institutional knowledge,” said King. “He provides great guidance and is a wealth of knowledge.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].