An Old Town police sergeant who has trained other law enforcement officers has been appointed to the board that oversees the training of police all over Maine.

Travis Roy, 31, is among three people appointed by Gov. Angus King to the board of trustees for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, which provides mandated training for state, county and municipal police agencies as well as for emergency dispatchers, corrections officers, probation officers and conservation officers.

Also appointed were Michael Carpenter, a former state attorney general and current Houlton town councilor, and Roberta Tibbetts, a professor at Thomas College in Waterville.

The three appointments complete the 17-member board that academy officials and trustees said is an intentionally diverse group that draws upon people inside and outside the law enforcement community. Members include an educator, state agency officials, a municipal official as well as a private citizens.

Roy will be one of two municipal police officers and the sole patrolling officer serving on the board. As such he brings an important voice to the board, said board chairman Brian R. MacMaster, who heads the criminal investigation division of the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

Roy’s perspective as a street officer will help provide insight about what officers on patrol feel they need for training, said MacMaster, noting that it’s not possible to fully understand a police officer’s life without having lived it.

And Roy won’t be bringing just his own take on police work. As a police instructor whose specialty involves training on use of force and firearms, Roy has an extensive exposure to police officers from Penobscot County as well as other counties.

He has to.

With so many small police departments in the state – officials estimate that 64 percent of all departments have between one and nine full-time police officers – Roy said many can’t afford to send someone to the academy in Vassalboro for the required annual training. Holding regional training to reach these smaller departments has become a necessity.

“That’s the only reason we survive in Maine, that we can spread out the network that way,” Roy said.

It was also Roy’s willingness not only to upgrade his own skills but also to help other officers to do the same that caught the attention of MacMaster, who recommended Roy’s appointment.

“He’s just someone who is conscientious in terms of his job and he’s very involved and wants to be more involved,” MacMaster said.

A police officer for more than 10 years, Roy has been strong proponent of police officers’ continuing their training. He serves as a trainer in firearms, use of force and civil liabilities. He often teaches on his own time.

Roy was president of his 1991 graduating class at the academy, attending the training program after being hired by the Penobscot Nation Police Department in November 1990. In May 1992 he was hired by Old Town as a full-time police officer. In Old Town, he worked on patrol and also served as stint as detective. In November 2000, he was promoted to sergeant.

Roy joins the board at a time when the academy is dealing with substantial changes.

As well as settling into new facilities in Vassalboro that nearly quadruple the amount of space available, the academy is combining its training programs. State troopers and county and municipal officers will now train side by side in a program that has been expanded from 12 weeks to 18 weeks for county and municipal officers. Training for state troopers will continue to cover about 24 weeks.

Among the issues the board likely will face is the decertification of officers if they don’t complete mandatory training imposed by new legislation. Full-time and part-time police officers as well as corrections officers are now required to complete 40 hours of training every two years, including two hours each on firearms, new laws, civil liability and department policy and procedures, said Steven Giorgetti, director of the academy.

Officers, in addition to these 16 hours of training, must also take 24 hours of elective training every two years.