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Politics & Government

Doylestown Township Chief Calls for Regional Police Department

Municipalities no longer can afford the cost of running small departments. Regionalization can reduce expenses without compromising public safety, he says.

With several logistical hurdles to overcome, the earliest a Central Bucks Regional Police Department could be operational is June 2012, according to Doylestown Township Police Chief Stephen J. White. 

White spoke Tuesday evening at the first of two televised public meetings to discuss the possibility of the township joining forces with Doylestown Borough, New Britain Borough and Warwick Township. He said financial and operational issues would have to be worked out before the plan could move forward.

A similar plan failed in 1993 because of pension worries in one municipality, White recalled. 

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While stumbling blocks such as pension funding, a labor contract and cost-sharing formulas could scuttle the plan, White said it is critical that municipalities find a way to rein in the cost of law enforcement.

Across the United States, he said, 75 percent of law enforcement agencies employ fewer than 25 officers. In Pennsylvania, which has more police departments than any state except Texas, 75 percent have 10 or fewer officers, he said.

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Speaking on behalf of Warwick Chief Joseph Costello and Doylestown Borough Chief James Donnelly, White said the chiefs do not believe municipalities can continue to afford small and even medium size police departments. The cost over the next 20 years, he said “will be prohibitive.” 

Regionalization, he said, is one way to “blunt” those costs while still maintaining a high level of public safety. 

If elected officials in the four municipalities agree that a regional police force is the way to go, the first step would be develop a Memorandum of Understanding and to appoint a Police Commission, said White. Its mission would be to hire a chief, construct a chain of command, and establish operating procedures.

Based on a by the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services, the proposed Central Bucks Regional Police Department would save the four municipalities a combined $378,000 in the first year with an $8.8 million budget.

The township’s share of the savings would be about $18,000, said White. New Britain and Warwick would save considerably more, he said.

But the chief emphasized that the report was based on a suggested cost-sharing model – the police commission could develop a much different scenario that would result in another outcome, he said.

While the proposed regional force would include 55 uniformed officers --  a reduction from the total of 62 employed by the four municipalities now – White said no one would be laid off because of the merger. Seven retirements – including his own – are expected to reduce the force by attrition, he said.

The study suggested housing the Patrol Division in Warwick Township and Administration in Doylestown Township. The regional police would pay rent to those municipalities, according to the report.

While much work still needs to be done, White said he hopes the five other police departments that cover municipalities in the Central Bucks School District would consider joining the regional force during the planning stage.

Only 11 people attended the 5 p.m. meeting Tuesday, including four of the five members of the township Board of Supervisors.

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