Probation violation puts Dickinson in jail

WESTBROOK – A former state prison inmate who once described himself as a “ticking time bomb” was back behind bars after violating probation.

Norman Dickinson, 37, was in the Cumberland County Jail because he violated his probation rules by walking unattended to the Probation and Parole office after arguing with his caseworker from the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.

Dickinson, whose strict probation terms require him to be supervised 24 hours a day, is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

The violation happened a day after the convicted kidnapper moved into a new home on Main Street in Westbrook, officials said.

Police Capt. Tom Roth said officers have circulated fliers about Dickinson to neighbors. They instruct people with questions to call the Police Department.

Dickinson, 37, has spent most of his life in state institutions, beginning with a four-year stay in the Maine Youth Center when he was 12.

In the past, Dickinson has run into problems on the outside. He smashed a TV in a pre-release center in 1997, slipped out of a halfway house for a beer in 1999 and broke the rules in two supervised apartments in 2000 and 2001.

This time, Dickinson is receiving an unprecedented level of support.

He has daily contact with a mental health worker from the Department of Health and Human Services, and the agency pays for his food and rent.

He has daily contact with a probation officer, and his movements are monitored with an electronic ankle bracelet. He is also in constant contact with his attorney.