Another step toward police protection in West Easton was completed with a formal Resolution at Monday’s council meeting, to form a police department. An Ordinance relating to that Resolution will be presented at a later date.
Starting a police department isn’t a simple matter of hiring some individuals fresh out of the police academy, swearing them in as police officers, and putting them in a car to patrol streets. If it were that easy there probably wouldn’t be so many communities completely dependent on the PSP for protection.
It’s less a matter of money for small communities without major and violent crime, than it is the leg work and planning needed to get a small force approved by the state and active on the streets. West Easton doesn’t need a helicopter, boats, an urban assault vehicle, a SWAT Team, police dogs, sub-stations, a jail, or a million dollar police station. What we need are a few officers that can enforce ordinances and by their presence, deter the petty thieves from visiting our community.
The formal resolution is only one of the requirements that must be met in order to obtain an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number that is assigned to a Law Enforcement Agency (LEA). An ORI number is generally a 9 digit numeric code consisting of 2 state/agency identifying characters and 6-7 addtional characters.
A police department won’t be recognized as a legitimate LEA without an ORI and Harrisburg has a number of hurdles a community must successfully jump over before that number is assigned.
West Easton must provide:
- The LEA’s Goals and Objectives
- The LEA’s Organizational Table
- A copy of the Resolution, State Statute creating the LEA
- The LEA’s scope of authority (i.e., investigative, statutory, etc.)
- Training documentation
- Oath of Office
- Act 120 training certificates
- Criminal background checks
- A letter from the 911 Center that they will accept the LEA’s ORI
Some of the above has been done. Others are being developed. A few won’t happen until we hire a Police Chief to head the Police Department, but that individual will have the required documentation to meet final requirements in obtaining the ORI.
The hiring of a Police Chief will probably be near the last steps, as the Safety Committee completes other areas of the Harrisburg requirements and presents them to Council for approval.
When a Police Chief is hired he will assist in setting up an office area and work with Council in obtaining needed equipment, developing department policies, and other preliminary needs while West Easton waits for the ORI to be assigned.
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.
