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Beyond the Byline: Be quick to share your light

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Nadia Steinzor: Air pollution from gas drilling requires action in Pennsylvania

<p>Would it be a good idea to &#8230;</p><p>&#8230; combine Luzerne County&#8217;s many small police departments, each responsible for protecting a single community, into a regional force?</p><p>Residents conceivably would be better protected. After all, the county&#8217;s current network of cop shops rely heavily on part-time officers, many of whom do double-duty by working for multiple towns in order to earn a living. And certain municipalities go without any local police force, instead relying on &#8220;free&#8221; coverage from the Pennsylvania State Police.</p><p>In reality, that service drains the state police of more than $500 million a year, which is more than half its budget, according to a recent <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/opinion/columns/530299/gerald-cross-free-police-coverage-in-certain-pennsylvania-communities-comes-at-high-cost" target="_blank">column in the Times Leader</a> by Gerald Cross, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League&#8217;s Central Division in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Cross also highlighted this problem: Criminals sometimes take refuge in the places unprotected by full-time departments.</p><p>&#8220;At an Economy League forum about heroin abuse, a Northeastern Pennsylvania borough police chief expressed frustration with drug dealers who locate in bordering municipalities without police departments,&#8221; Cross wrote. &#8220;These dealers sell to residents of his borough, resulting in a spike of drug-related crime.&#8221;</p><p>In the Back Mountain, residents reportedly are waiting for a police regionalization study that presumably looks at the viability of combining forces in Dallas and multiple nearby townships. Similarly, officials in five Pittston area municipalities have examined a potential cooperative policing effort at least twice in the past decade.</p><p>The Times Leader has long advocated for elected leaders to finally pull the trigger on these kinds of collaborations, which would require officers to respond to calls over larger geographic areas. &#8220;Give Luzerne County a bona fide regional police force,&#8221; stated our editorial in January 2014.</p><p>&#8220;Modern technology, such as global positioning systems that allow patrol officers to pinpoint and respond to places within a wide territory, make it possible,&#8221; the editorial continued. &#8220;Modern realities make it imperative.&#8221;</p><p>Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis counts herself among today&#8217;s supporters of police regionalization. Nearly 50 law enforcement agencies currently coexist in the county, a fact that causes her peers in other places to shake their heads in disbelief, she has said.</p><p>Presumably, a regional force, or forces, could be better equipped and better staffed, with full-timers devoted to divisions such as patrol, detective and special victims.</p><p>Do you think a regional police force would be effective for your community? If not, why not?</p><p>Give us your feedback by sending a letter to the editor or posting comments to this editorial at timesleader.com.</p><p>Likewise, tell us your ideas for improving the community and making area residents&#8217; lives better. Maybe we&#8217;ll spotlight your suggestion in a future editorial and ask readers, &#8220;Would it be a good idea to &#8230;&#8221;</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Combine police departments throughout Luzerne County to improve public safety