Lt. Nick Goodman has been a cop in Portland for over 20 years.

He’s run narcotics stings. Solved cold cases. Led Portland’s SWAT team through high-risk raids and manhunts. He’s watched the city change, from a place where gunfire made headlines to a place where “another shooting” barely raises eyebrows.

This episode is a raw, unfiltered look at what public safety in Maine actually looks like today (and what it will take to turn things around).

We cover:

• Why Portland went from 1–2 shootings a year to 60–70

• The real reason police recruitment is collapsing

• What happens when jails stop taking violent offenders

• Why COVID still haunts Maine’s courts, streets, and police departments

• How “well-meaning” laws backfire in ways few people understand

• What a Vegas man did to get a heart transplant in Portland

• Why tech silos make Maine a playground for repeat offenders

• And what Lt. Goodman believes Maine’s next governor must do right now

We also explore a bigger question: what happens when systems stop working and the people inside them still try to show up?

This is not a pro-police or anti-police episode. It’s a pro-reality episode.

And it’s one of the most urgent conversations we’ve had on Maine For Keeps.

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