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Crestwood graduate Matt Wotherspoon stellar in home debut, but RailRiders stumble

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State Rep. Robert F. Matzie: Ban resale of Pennsylvania drivers’ data

<p>Would it be a good idea to &#8230;</p><p>&#8230; put more full-time police officers on patrol in Luzerne County&#8217;s communities rather than rely, in some cases, on small departments patched together with part-timers?</p><p>Faithful readers of the Times Leader&#8217;s editorials will recognize this question as a slightly reworded version of what we posed in <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/opinion/editorials/537620/our-opinion-combine-police-departments-throughout-luzerne-county-to-improve-public-safety" target="_blank">last Monday&#8217;s installment</a> of &#8220;Is this a good idea?&#8221; We noted then that certain municipalities have meager departments or no longer can afford their own cop shops, instead relying on state police for security.</p><p>Readers responded, posting online comments with their views about regional police forces, plus potential mergers of other sorts. Below is a sample of what they had to say; the messages have been edited for clarity.</p><p>&#8220;Combining law enforcement in Luzerne County into a single countywide police department would be the most efficient, practical and cost-effective way to operate such a department,&#8221; stated one supporter of the strength-in-unity notion. &#8220;However, caution should be used as to NOT put such an organization under a county government structure, since we know how ineffective that would be.&#8221;</p><p>Another commenter hedged, saying regionalization &#8220;would be very difficult&#8221; in some locations. But other areas &#8211; such as the Back Mountain, southern Luzerne County and &#8220;East Side communities&#8221; &#8211; merit study to see if the merged-force idea could fly. Likewise, the writer encouraged conversation about the potential for more consolidations among the area&#8217;s volunteer-reliant fire and ambulance companies.</p><p>One writer clutched the regionalization concept and ran to its logical conclusion: &#8220;Why stop at police departments? Why not also merge towns, perhaps using the boundaries of the school districts? &#8230; There is no need for 76 separate governments &#8211; and the corruption they can contain &#8211; especially when more than 20 percent of the total population lives in only two cities: Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</p><p>We didn&#8217;t hear a word last week from detractors of regional police forces. Certainly, there must be area residents who see the proposal&#8217;s pitfalls. We&#8217;d like to hear from people, including current and former police officers, on all sides of this issue involving public safety.</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: Regional police forces could better protect Luzerne County