ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County Council on Wednesday unanimously signed off on an application for state funds to study combining police departments in the county.
The grant request, for $198,400 of gaming tax revenue through the Local Share Account program, would fund a Lehigh County Chiefs of Police Association study examining whether some of the county’s municipal police forces could be combined.
There are at least 15 municipal police departments in Lehigh County; the rest of the county is served by Pennsylvania State Police.
“This isn’t obligating anyone to anything. This is just simply an exercise to identify opportunities."Lehigh County Commissioner Ron Beitler
In early 2022, the same organization undertook a review of the county’s existing police departments. Its latest study would build on the 2022 work as “a second component of an ongoing conversation,” Commissioner Ron Beitler said.
Organizations such as the Chiefs of Police Association can't directly apply for share account funds. Instead, a governmental body such as the board of commissioners must formally endorse its application.
Lehigh County applied for a grant to fund the same project last year, but its application was unsuccessful.
'Making sure they have resources'
In his introduction of the grant application, Beitler made clear that all commissioners voted to authorize Wednesday night was a study.
“This isn’t obligating anyone to anything," he said. "This is just simply an exercise to identify opportunities.
“These conversations on how [departments] could be consolidated and resources shared, it just simply makes a ton of good sense for a county our size.”
“It's a service that we should care about, because when somebody calls 911, they're calling the county. Making sure that they have the resources necessary to deliver on the dispatch is a good partnership for us to have.”Lehigh County Commissioner Geoff Brace
Front-line police departments are part of the county’s concern, said Commissioner Geoff Brace, even though municipalities are responsible for running them.
“It's a service that we should care about, because when somebody calls 911, they're calling the county,” Brace said. “Making sure that they have the resources necessary to deliver on the dispatch is a good partnership for us to have.”
Joe Welsh, executive director of criminal justice nonprofit the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute, endorsed the proposed study.
Consolidating some departments, he said, would make it easier for police to integrate mental health first responders and other resources.
