A lot of residents ask me, “How are ‘we’ making out on getting a police force?”
I’m asked about when it will start, as concerns about the lack of a local law enforcement agency to take care of problems that the State Police will not respond to, is often mentioned.
Though nobody can give an exact date of when the first car will be seen on the streets, I do believe that the light at the end of the tunnel is much closer.
As I understand it, the bureaucracy of obtaining approval to form a police department has been completed and it was a long process of filing information and waiting for replies, sometimes with requests for additional information. More waiting.
And the problem with government bureaucracy is that they require you put their jigsaw puzzle together in the order they require it done. You aren’t allowed to cheat and get the corners and sides done first. It’s more like, “Show us piece #1 and we’ll let you know if you can connect piece #2.”
The police station, the building on 6th Street leased from Safety First Vol. Fire Company, has been under renovation. It still has some work to be done, but is also in its final stages. When it is inspected and found up to code, the required services for the building can be installed (phones, internet, security, etc.).
While all the above has been going on, our Police Consultant, Mr. Robert Mahady, has been preparing policies, manuals, and Standard Operating Procedures for the new part-time officers that will be hired.
Yes, that’s more bureaucracy, but these items are needed to protect our Borough from possible lawsuits that could arise without guidelines for officers to follow.
The last major hurdle will be equipment and the list is long.
Everything from furniture for the station, to police vehicles. Weapons, safes, uniforms, log books, forms, computers, computer programs, and much more will all be needed to run a separate office and provide protection to our officers.
Some items, such as computers and the special programs used to tie our police force with state and national data information (so they can “talk” to each other) will have to be set up by an outside agency.
With $150,000 budgeted this year, along with the $150,000 carried over from the 2017 budget, the initial outlay of expenses for start-up is covered in our budget. Costs in following years should be significantly less than the first year of operation and definitely less than paying another community what they demand for part-time police protection.
During the final stage of obtaining the needed equipment, the process of interviewing applicants for part-time officers will likely take place.
Forming a police department isn’t easy. If it were, every community would have one.
West Easton will have one, but it takes time to do it right and I hope that residents will have patience for a while longer.
I’m hoping that we could see a part-time police force before the year’s end.
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.
