Nazareth to disband police force

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Despite protests by residents and the police chief, Nazareth Borough Council voted unanimously Monday to disband the police force and begin negotiations with the Colonial Regional Police Department to cover the community.

"There is no ideal answer to this situation," Mayor Fred Daugherty Jr. told about 20 residents after the 9-0 vote.

Last week he recommended to council that the borough enter into a three-year agreement with the outside agency because of rising costs.

Earlier in the meeting, some residents told council they don't want the switchover, clinging to the tight-knit community feel of knowing the faces of their three full-time police officers.

Betty McCannon said she feared a slow response time from Colonial Regional.

"We are the citizens, we live in this town, we need to keep our police force here," she said.

But Daugherty, who has made regionalization of the police force a key initiative, insisted that "We need to share the cost."

In the past he has tossed around ideas such as forming a regional department or contracting services.

"I'm not saying it's not going to be painful, but it's what I believe in my heart," he said.

Council President Daniel Chiavaroli said the plan is for all of the local officers to be hired by the Colonial Regional department. Council formed a committee to discuss issues brought on by a contract with the Colonial Regional force.

Borough police Chief Tom Trachta said afterward he was "not surprised" by the decision and has already submitted to council a list of questions on how much the borough police officers will be paid, how much vacation time they'll get and their post-retirement benefits under the regional force.

In the same letter, he said a regional police force is not a good fit for Nazareth. He said in his experience working with the New York Police Department, "a big department will be reactive, not proactive" to crime. He said "the citizens will get less police coverage."

He also said the timing is bad.

"It's the wrong time to start to contract police services from another department because the borough has a contract with the current officers," Trachta wrote.

Over the past five years, Nazareth's police budget has increased by 50 percent because of personnel costs. The staff has dropped by half, to the three full-time officers. The borough's insurance premiums have risen by 22.5 percent in the past year.

The police force saw a 15 percent increase in serious offenses such as larceny from 2009 to 2010. There have not been any homicides.

Colonial Regional's 24 officers, a number of them former Nazareth officers, cover Lower Nazareth Township, Hanover Township, Bath and Chapman. In an April pitch to the borough, Colonial Regional police Chief Roy Seiple assured Nazareth residents they would see more officers and services if the switch occurred.

This is not the first time the borough has considered regional police. In 1995, council voted to phase out of the local department, but the mayor vetoed the decision.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/nazareth/mc-nazareth-regional-police-20110606,0,591021.story