State police provide coverage to many Butler municipalities
Slippery Rock recently upped the staffing of its police department, bringing coverage up to “99.9 percent” local officers.
This level of local coverage means an officer is almost always patrolling the area. This gives police better response times, and they can enforce local borough ordinances and be more attentive to traffic violations.
But not all municipalities have their own police departments, and even those that do sometimes need backup. In those cases, state police are the ones who answer the call.
Slippery Rock has four full-time officers and four part-time officers, but the borough may need state police to step in when an officer is ill or on vacation.
“If we are not able to cover a shift,” said Shawn Pugh, borough manager, “911 would know that we don't have an officer for that shift and the state police would respond.”
State police troopers patrol assigned zones that encompass multiple townships and boroughs, including municipalities that don't have their own police departments, those that have part-time local coverage and those that have their own full-time departments.
Since 2013, the number of municipalities statewide that need part-time coverage from the state police went from 417 to 428, and those that need full-time coverage went from 1,266 to 1,293, according to data from the state police.
In Butler County, 36 municipalities get full-time coverage from state police, and 10 get part-time coverage, according to a February 2021 report by the state police. Ten other municipalities have full-time coverage from their own police departments, or “local coverage.”Ryan Tarkowski, state police communications director, said troopers patrol assigned districts, which include areas with their own police departments, and those that have no local department.Josh Black, public information officer for Troop D, which covers Butler, Armstrong, Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties, said 40 patrol officers staff the district, and several are on call each day.Patrolling troopers respond to crime in a particular region, but may also be called to other locations for search efforts such as AMBER alerts or air support.“Certainly, theoretically we won't have the response time of a local department,” Tarkowski said. “A lot of these communities that don't have police are smaller, rural places. We take this into account for staffing formulas.”Kandi Nassy, a Concord Township supervisor, said she has not heard complaints from the 1,400 residents in the township when it comes to not having a local police department or the response time of state police.“Not that we've had any issues,” she said, “most people that live out there understand that it's not going to happen right away.”Middlesex Township operates almost completely through its own police department, with a staff of four part-time and four full-time officers, similar to Slippery Rock.Township manager Adam Hartwig said response times by its own department have always been solid.“It's a service we have provided to our residents for years,” he said. “Our department has been really good at staffing and scheduling.”The state police is funded by personal state taxes as well as the gas tax and motor license fund, while municipalities fund departments through local taxes.In 2020, Slippery Rock allocated $346,298 in its budget toward police department expenses. Middlesex Township allocated $479,737 to its police department in its 2020 budget.The yearly operating cost for the state police in Butler County exceeds $17 million, according to a municipal funding proposal from the agency.Tarkowski said lawmakers and the state police have been searching for a better source of funding for years, which is necessary for the increasing need for coverage.“The overwhelming majority of (Pennsylvania State Police) budget is personnel,” Tarkowski said. “We have a bureau of research and development and have formulas on how to staff specific stations. Finding a way to fairly and equitably fund PSP is of paramount importance.”State police troopers and administrators work closely with municipal departments and collaborate on scheduling and investigating crimes, Tarkowski said. According to data from the state Attorney General's Office, troopers made 1,296 arrests in Butler County in 2018.But with the entirety of the northeast section of Butler County covered solely by state police, the assigned troopers are not always able to handle complaints from residents in a particular township.“Whenever you have a complaint about an oversized vehicle on the road or something like that, that's not high on their priority list,” Nassy said.Center Township, for example, does not have its own police department, and has a population of approximately 7,898 people, and multiple businesses and restaurants. The township administration has to take care of ordinance violations by sending notices to residents, who then have 30 days to comply before the violation moves to the magisterial district court, said Anthony Amendolea, secretary/treasurer of Center Township.For serious crimes and traffic accidents, the township relies on state police.“There has never been a problem with response time,” said Amendolea.
