Regional Police Services in Pennsylvania A Manual for Local Government Officials > ready > set > succeed newPA.com Regional Police Services in Pennsylvania A Man ual for Lo cal Gov ern ment Of fi cials Tenth Edi tion June 2011 Comments or inquiries on the subject matter of this publica tion should be addressed to: Gov er nor’s Cen ter for Lo cal Gov ern ment Ser vices De part ment of Com mu nity and Eco nomic De vel op ment Com mon wealth Key stone Build ing 400 North Street, 4th Floor Har ris burg, Penn syl va nia 17120-0225 (717) 787-8158 1-888-223-6837 E-mail: [email protected] This and other publica tions are available for viewing or downloading free-of-charge from the Department of Community and Economic Devel op ment web site. Printed copies may be ordered and purchased through a private vendor as indicated on the web site. Ac cess www.newPA.com Se lect Get Local Gov Support Se lect Pub li ca tions No liability is assumed with respect to the use of informa tion contained in this publica tion. Laws may be amended or court rulings made that could affect a partic ular procedure, issue or interpre ta tion. The Department of Commu nity and Economic Devel op ment assumes no responsi bility for errors and omissions nor any liability for damages resulting from the use of informa tion contained herein. Please contact your local solicitor for legal advise. Prepa ration of this publica tion was financed from appropri a tions of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl vania. Copyright © 2010, Pennsyl vania Department of Community and Economic Develop ment, all rights reserved. Table of Contents I. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................1 History of Municipal Police Consolidation................................................................................1 Alternative Methods of Providing Police Services.....................................................................1 Consolidation Issues ...................................................................................................................2 Legal Authority For Police Consolidation..................................................................................3 Advantages of Police Consolidation or Regional Police Services .............................................3 Negative Factors Involved in Police Consolidation ..................................................................4 II. Preliminary Feasibility Considerations ..................................................................................6 General Conditions .....................................................................................................................6 Police Service Considerations ....................................................................................................6 Public Opinion ............................................................................................................................7 III. Basic Steps for Assessing Feasibility and Developing Plan...................................................8 Appointment of a Regional Police Study Committee.................................................................8 Determining Study Procedure.....................................................................................................8 Gathering Data and Information................................................................................................ 9 Analyzing Data and Determining Feasibility ..........................................................................10 Establishing the Procedure and Timetable for Implementation ..............................................10 IV. Developing a Regional Police Contract or Purchase of Service Agreement .....................11 Define the Level of Police Service and Determine the Cost ....................................................11 Developing the Agreement ......................................................................................................12 Police Pensions - Purchase of Service Agreement ..................................................................12 V. Developing a Consolidated Police Department ...................................................................13 Oversight of the Consolidated Police Department ..................................................................13 Personnel Administration ........................................................................................................ 16 Regional Police Pension Plan ...................................................................................................17 Act 600 of 1956 ........................................................................................................................17 Purchase of Service Agreements ..............................................................................................18 Adoption of the Pension Plan ...................................................................................................18 Transition Considerations.........................................................................................................18 Mandatory Provisions...............................................................................................................19 Optional Provisions ..................................................................................................................19 Acquisition of State Funds........................................................................................................20 Civil Service Commission .......................................................................................................21 Organization of the Regional Police Department.....................................................................21 VI. Personnel, Equipment, Facilities and Finances ..................................................................25 Determining Staffing Needs ....................................................................................................25 Selecting the Chief of the Regional Police Dept. ....................................................................27 Filling Other Administrative and Supervisory Positions .........................................................28 Filling Specialist and Civilian Positions.................................................................................. 28 Consolidation of Equipment ....................................................................................................28 Police Records Consolidation ..................................................................................................28 Training the Regional Police Department ...............................................................................29 Selecting a Police Headquarters Facility .................................................................................29 Developing a Budget ...............................................................................................................29 Methods of Distributing Cost ..................................................................................................30 State Funding ............................................................................................................................33 VII. Common Questions on Consolidated or Regional Police Services.....................................35 Appendices A. Law Enforcement Survey ..................................................................................................39 B. Common Questions Generated by Local Government Officials, Law Enforcement Officials and Local Citizens ..............................................................................................57 C. Sample Contract or Purchase of Service Agreement ........................................................61 D. Sample Articles of Agreement ..........................................................................................67 E. PA Consolidated Statutes Title 53 Relating to Intergovernmental Cooperation ...............75 F. Minimum Requirements for Transitional Phase....................................................................81 G. Information and Statistical Data on Consolidated/ Regional Police Departments .............................................................................................87 I. Introduction History of Municipal Police Consolidation The thought of consoli dating municipal police departments as an alterna tive to solving many adminis tra tive and operational problems has been considered for many years in the state and nation. On the surface, the concept appears especially appro priate for the Common wealth of Pennsyl vania since there are more than 1,100 municipal police departments in the state. This is an exceptional number when compared to most other states which get along with 300 or 400. Although the concept was present and operational in many parts of the country many years earlier, the consoli da tion of local police services was a major recommen da tion of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Adminis tra tion of Justice 1967 report The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. In 1973, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommended the consoli da tion of police departments of less than 10 full-time sworn officers. Two years later, in December 1975, Pennsyl vania adopted as one of its many standards and