It’s been cautious baby-steps as West Easton Council investigated the formation of a part-time police force. Though only a “thought” by newly elected Council members in 2016, the idea of a part-time police force had to be vigorously investigated as an alternative to an outrageous contract cost proposed by Wilson Borough, to provide police coverage 24/7.
The West Easton Council passed a new ordinance last night that allows for the formation of a borough police force. Our police force will consist of part-time officers, with the possible exception of the Police Chief (who could also be only part-time, depending upon salary demands), if all comes to fruition. Hiring part-time officers will allow West Easton to avoid the exorbitant costs that come with Civil Service requirements related to a specified number of full-time officers being hired.
The ordinance was approved in a 5-2 vote, by members in full attendance (H. Nodoline, Dees, James, Mammana, DePaul affirming – T. Nodoline, Lewis dissenting).
The passage of the ordinance that had been previously advertised followed a similar resolution to form a police department. The resolution was approved by Council months ago. These legislative steps are but a couple that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires West Easton to complete before an Originating Agency Identification (ORI) Number will be issued to our own Law Enforcement Agency (LEA).
Other steps that have to be completed include submitting written goals of the LEA, Command structure, and more.
An ORI Number must be obtained before West Easton’s LEA can legally enforce laws and interact with Primary LEA’s.
An ORI is like an address that identifies the agency submitting the information.
For non-federal law enforcement agencies, the first two letters are the state. For example, Pennsylvania agencies start with “PA”. The next numbers or letters identify the specific agency. An agency can have a primary ORI number where the last digits are zeros, and then have multiple different last numbers to direct messages or “teletypes” to specific computer terminals. The ORI number identifies the sending agency so all replies will go to the relevant destination.
Most primary numbers go to a dispatch or warrants unit where there is a 24-hr operator. This allows the agency to respond immediately for time-urgent queries such as if a warrant is still valid or if a stolen vehicle has been recovered and can be removed from the system. Fingerprint background checks have a different level of urgency because no-one is being detained waiting for an answer. Usually, if a response is received by the primary terminal, it will be routed to the appropriate unit within the agency.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
