nazareth borough police study

Nazareth Borough

Police Management Study

Governor's Center for Local

Government Services

John Eller,

Peer Consultant

Northampton County

Nazareth Borough

August 2015

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Tom Wolf, Governor

Department of Community & Economic Development

Dennis M. Davin, Secretary newPA.com

Nazareth Borough Police Management Review

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.03

Background.07

Executive Study of Recommendations...13

Current Police Organization...17

Police Expenditures23

Agency Effectiveness in Field Operations..28

Police Patrol Function.34

Policies, Rules and Regulations..39

Administrative, Technical and Support Service.....48

Role of Police Chief in the Budget Process.52

Departmental Records System54

Personnel Records...63

Personnel, Management and Training70

Police Facility.74

Police Vehicles and Equipment..77

Evidence..81

Proposed Organization and Future Staffing...83

Concept of Regional Policing90

Governing Body and Police Relationship.92

Conclusion95

Interviews/Contacts......................97

Appendix..98


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FOREWORD The current study of the Nazareth Borough Police Department (NBPD) was initiated

at the request of the Mayor and Nazareth Borough Council. Retired Chief of Police John M. Eller, from Brookhaven Borough, Delaware County, Pennsylvania conducted the management study. Chief Eller retired after forty-four years in law enforcement. Chief Eller has been a Peer-to-Peer Management Consultant for the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) since the inception of the Peer-to-Peer program in 1988.

In addition to the initial visit on November 3, 2014 for the signing of the contract, Chief Eller acting as a peer-to-peer consultant conducted ten (10) on-site visits to the Nazareth Police Department for gathering information and data. Mayor Carl R. Strye, Council President Daniel R. Chiavaroli, Council Vice-President Larry U. Stoudt, Secretary/Treasurer Paul A. Kokolus, Police Chief Thomas M. Trachta and Ronald Stern, Policy Specialist, Governors Center for Local Government Services (GCLGS) were present at the initial meeting. During subsequent visits, interviews were conducted with the Chief of Police, police officers, the Mayor, President and Vice-President of Borough Council, Chairman of the Police Committee, Secretary/Treasurer, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary/Treasurer, Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police, District Judge, and a former Mayor.

The Governors Center for Local Government Services (GCLGS) recognizes that many issues discussed in this report may be significant factors in collective bargaining. However, using the recommendations of the consultant and the department for the sole purpose of labor negotiation conflicts with the intent of the study. The purpose of the study is to improve the management of police services for the citizens in Nazareth Borough. For members of the local governing body in Nazareth or members of the Nazareth Police Association to use the work of the consultant or the GCLGS, to exclusively further its own interest, is inappropriate. Chief Eller retired after 44 years in law enforcement. During that time, he served as Chief of Police in two communities for 39 of those years. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (1985) Penn State POLEX and POSIT courses (1989). He was a certified police instructor in NJ and PA from 1978 to 2012. He is a life member in the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the PA Chiefs of Police Association (PCPA), the Southeastern PA, Chiefs Association and the Delaware County Police Chiefs Association. He was a member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA). He instructed at the Burlington County Police Academy (1978 1981), Camden Police Academy (1980-1981), Philadelphia Police Academy (19851996) and the Delaware County Police Academy in basic, in-service and lethal weapons training for thirty years.


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INTRODUCTION

There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Each county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 2,562 municipalities in Pennsylvania. The municipalities are then designated into four classifications: Cities (1st, 2nd, 3rd class), Boroughs, Townships (1st and 2nd class) and one Town. NAZARETH, which is geographically located in the Center of Northampton County, is one of the 958 Boroughs listed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Northampton County is on the eastern border of Pennsylvania, adjacent to the State of New Jersey. Nazareth Borough is celebrating its 275th anniversary this year.

According to historical information displayed on the Municipal website, the

Borough is named for the Biblical town of Nazareth. The City of Bethlehem is just four miles to the south of Nazareth. William Penn bequeathed the land to his daughter, Letitia, who under colonial law would have to pay a single red rose each June 24, if so demanded by the trustees. The citizens of Nazareth celebrate this tradition on June 11 and 12 by various organizations selling red roses throughout the community.

Founded in 1740, the Barony of Nazareth was a land tract purchased by George

Whitefield, which encompassed 5,000 acres and included the borough of Nazareth, as well as the Townships of Upper and Lower Nazareth. He invited the Moravians to settle the land. He requested their assistance in establishing a free school for African-American children, as well as a haven for Englishmen suffering from harsh laws. The Moravians purchased the Barony of Nazareth from Whitefield and began building log cabins and stone houses along with grist and saw mills. The number of manufacturing facilities increased.

Nazareth was originally planned as a central English speaking church village, but in

October 1742 the 18 English inhabitants departed for Philadelphia. Meanwhile the Nazareth tract was in the hands of Captain John, a Lenape chieftain, who, along with his followers, refused to vacate the land, even though they no longer owned the land. A settlement was finally reached and the tribe moved on to another location. A large portion of the population was of German origin through the mid 1900s. They were referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch). The Borough was eventually incorporated in 1858.

At the turn of the 20th century the cement industry was established and larger labor

forces were needed, which resulted in a variety of ethnic heritages, who, co-existed easily with the descendants of the early Moravians. Later in the 1960s there were three large cement companies operating in and around the Borough (ESSROC formerly Coplay Cement, Hercules Cement, Penn-Dixie Cement). Today, ESSROC has three operating plants in and around the outskirts of the Borough.

Modern day Nazareth is a quaint and charming community of 5,723 residents that is

1.7 square miles in size and is situated in central Northampton County, approximately four miles north of the City of Bethlehem and seven miles northwest of the City of Easton. Nazareth (*1858) is one of several communities considered to be included in The Nazareth Area according to the Chamber of Commerce.


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Other municipalities considered to be part of this area are Upper and Lower Nazareth Townships (*1813), Stockertown Borough (*1900) and Tatamy Borough (*1893). (*Dates indicate years of incorporation).

PA Routes 191 (N/S) and 248 (E/W) connect in the southern portion of the Borough.

Major urban cities such as Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are located approximately 60 miles north; New York is approximately 70 miles east; Philadelphia is approximately 65 miles south and Harrisburg is approximately 90 miles west. Route 33 (N/S), which is just a few miles outside the Borough, is a connecter link between Interstate 78 (E/W) and Interstate 80 (E/W) which runs from New Jersey, through the Pocono Mountain area and across the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There are 5.24 miles of state highway in the Borough and 20.96 miles of municipal streets. Lanta Bus Service provides transportation through the Borough. Norfolk Southern Railway has commercial tracks running through the southern end of the Borough in an east/west direction. The Borough can be described as hilly and rightfully so, due to the fact that it sits on one of the richest veins of limestone in the U.S.

The community remains busy throughout the year with the Vigilance Hose Fire Company carnival in the spring, numerous antique functions, a craft show at the historic Whitefield House (built in 1740) and Nazareth Day in the downtown business district and Borough Park. C.F. Martin & Company the oldest surviving maker of guitars in the world (182 years) is located at 510 Sycamore Street and there is an annual celebration every August called Martin on Main in the down town area. During winter months there is a Walking Candlelight Tour, the YMCA Tree of Lights, the Nazareth Towne Open House and the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation featured one of Martins Guitars on the face of its roadmap for 2014.

The Borough has seven recreational areas and a new municipal pool, which was just

completed since last season. The recreational areas include the following: Nazareth Community Park Nazareth Hall Park Gus L. Sauerzoff Memorial Park Paul A. Kokolus Sr. Park Kraemer Park Copley Park Holy Family School Ball field The Borough is part of the Nazareth Area School District. The school district

includes the Boroughs of Nazareth, Tatamy, Stockertown and the Townships of Upper Nazareth, Lower Nazareth and Bushkill. The district includes three elementary schools, one of which is the Floyd Shafer Elementary School located at 49 South Liberty Street in the Borough. The other two elementary schools are Lower Nazareth Elementary and Bushkill Elementary.


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According to information listed in the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce booklet and the Internet there is Nazareth High School, Nazareth Middle School and Nazareth Intermediate School. . Elementary schools have grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade and the enrollment for all three schools are 1,288.

A booklet provided by the Nazareth Borough Secretary/Treasurer indicates that the

enrollment for Shafer Elementary is 638 students, although it also indicates that the school has grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. The borough also has Holy Family Parochial School located at 17 N. Convent Avenue, which has Preschool (3 and 4 year olds) through 8th grade. Holy Family Parochial School has 283 students enrolled Kindergarten through the 8th grade, plus an additional 35 children registered in pre-school for a grand total of 318 students.

There are five churches in the Borough; Holy Family Catholic Church, Saint

Brigids Episcopal Church, Saint Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church, Saint Johns United Church of Christ and Schoeneck Moravian Church.

Another unique concept of the Borough is Moravian Hall Square, 175 W. North

Street that is a retirement community. Located on 15 acres in downtown Nazareth it has its own little shops and businesses. Since it is located downtown it is within walking distance of shops, churches, banks, medical offices and the YMCA. Since opening in 2008, Moravian Hall Square had endeavored to be a resource to the entire community by providing free programming with numerous themes such as entertainment, education, health, wellness through Senior Pathways, Arts and Artists, Lunch and Learn and Wellness and Vitality. It has a speakers bureau and provides informative programs to local civic clubs and businesses on a variety of topics. It also provides space for the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce, the Nazareth Area Rotary Club and the Nazareth Area Ministerium to hold their regular meetings. It also hosts summer outdoor concerts, health fairs and a bi-annual Chamber mixer in conjunction with KNBT/National Penn and St. Lukes Hospital and Health Network that attracts businesspeople from all over the Lehigh Valley.

There are eleven liquor-dispensing establishments within Borough limits. Ten of

those establishments are social clubs that require membership. There is one public bar located in the American Hotel on Main Street. There was another public bar in an establishment called the Towne House, however it is now closed.

Emergency Services in the community are provided by the following organizations: Nazareth Police Department - 134 South Main Street (911) (610-759-9575) Vigilance Hose Company Number 1 - 49 South Broad Street (911) (610-759-2542) Nazareth Special Fire Police - 49 South Broad Street (610-759-2542) Nazareth Ambulance Corps - 49 South Broad Street (rear) (911) (610-759-6754) Nazareth Emergency Management - 134 South Main Street (484-239-6019)


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This information is provided to show a little history of the community and how it evolved over the years. It also shows the type of area that the Nazareth Police Department is responsible for protecting on a day-to-day basis. NOTE: During the course of the study the Borough of Nazareth was honored by the Boroughs Association for having the best website in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was rated #1 over 1,700 other websites. The announcement was made on April 15, 2015.


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BACKGROUND

Mr. Albert Pierce, Borough Solicitor, seems to have the most tenure of all the public officials. He was able to provide background information on the police department.

Section 1121 of the Borough Code, 53 P.S. 46121, provides that a Borough by

ordinance establish a police department and then designate the rank structure. The code specifically states that the Mayor shall continue to direct the manner in which the individuals assigned to the various positions shall perform their duties. Furthermore, it states that Borough Council has the power and authority to appoint, remove, suspend and demote police officers and fix and determine the total weekly hours of employment. Council may also assign the Chief of Police or any other member of the police force to undergo a course of training. All police officers in Pennsylvania are required to attend a police academy that is regulated by the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission. All police officers are also required to attend mandatory training annually in order to retain their certification as an active police officer.

Section 1124 of the Borough Code also gives the Mayor the authority to suspend any

police officer for cause and without pay, until the succeeding meeting of the Borough Council. Disciplinary actions of the Mayor are subject to the review and approval of Borough Council.

In 1975, Pennsylvania adopted as one of its standards and goals for the improvement

of police service in the Commonwealth, Standard 6.4, which states, where appropriate to do so, police departments should consolidate for improved efficiency or effectiveness but in no case should an individual department member lose salary or status as the result of such consolidation.

In the publication Administering Police Services in Small Communities there are

some alternatives regarding communities having their own police department: (1) Contracting or purchasing police service from another agency; (2) Consolidated Police Service or Regionalization as its known in Pennsylvania,

where two or more municipalities create a police department that is outside the direct control of any one municipality. Colonial Regional Police Department serving the municipalities of Lower Nazareth Township, Hanover Township and the Borough of Bath is an example of a regional police department;

(3) Centralized Support Services/Decentralized Patrol results in a municipality

having its own patrol force but contracting out for support services such as dispatching, record keeping, investigation services and personnel services. Example, the Town of Bloomsburg maintains the Criminal History Information for all the departments in Columbia County at their police department.


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Nazareth Borough Ordinance #401 established (or re-established) a police department in the Borough of Nazareth. The original ordinance in the footnotes was passed on July 3, 1967. Ordinance # 402 lists the rank structure within the police department (Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, Sergeant and Patrolman). It should be noted that the classification of Patrolman specifies the male gender and should be changed to patrol officer or police officer, which is not gender specific.

In the 1950s there were two or three police officers servicing Nazareth Borough and

Upper Nazareth Township. In 1974 Lower Nazareth Township was serviced. In 1976 there were ten officers on the Nazareth Borough Police Department. There was an officer on patrol in Nazareth Borough and another on patrol in Lower Nazareth Township.

In 1979, Chief Joseph Roccosanto was hired. He was from the state of New Jersey.

He served for thirteen years and retired in 1992 for health reasons and eventually died. In 1992, Chief Bruce Ruch was hired. The department continued to have ten

officers. In 1995, the Colonial Regional Police Department was formed. Nazareth Borough was supposed to be included in the regional department along with Bath Borough, Lower Nazareth and Hanover Townships. When Nazareth Borough Council voted on joining the Regional Police Department there was a tie on the floor vote among council members and the Mayor was called to break the tie. The Mayor voted against joining the Colonial Regional Police Department. So Nazareth remained on its own. Upper Nazareth also formed its own department. Since there was no longer the need for ten full time police officers, the lowest ranking five officers were laid off and hired by Colonial Regional (those five officers now formulate the command staff of the Colonial Regional Police Department).

Chief Ruch served another ten years before he succumbed to a terminal illness and died in 2005. Senior Patrol Officer Alan Koch was designated as the Officer in Charge and Nazareth Borough operated without an Administrator or Police Chief for two years. Being placed in charge of a police department without any supervisory or administrative training is no easy task, especially when an officer is expected to fulfill patrol duties as well.

In addition to fulfilling two job classifications, Officer Koch was in charge while

the police department physically moved the facility to its current location at 134 South Main Street, which was the former Lafayette Ambassador Bank and Loan Company. The bank still maintains a drive-thru window and services customers until a new banking facility is completed later in the year.

Officer Koch stated that the Nazareth Highway Department did an excellent job of

converting the ground level room of the bank into the police department. He credited them with building the locker rooms, bathrooms, holding (detention) cells and the armory. The majority of the police facility is comprised of a large room with multiple desks and filing cabinets (more detail in Facility Section).

The police operated that way until 2007, when Chief Michael Sinclair was hired.

Chief Sinclair was a retired Captain from the Philadelphia Police Department. Current Chief


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Thomas Trachta, who was a New York City Police Detective Sergeant also applied for the job.

Chief Sinclair faced resistance immediately due to the fact that he was hired from the

outside and there was no in-house promotion. Nine officers resigned, two full time officers and the remainder were part time officers.

Thomas Trachta was offered a position and was hired as a part time officer being

assigned the rank of corporal. Being hired in this manner (part time) avoids the Civil Service process. He was hired at the rank of corporal and there was no such rank in the police ordinance. Therefore, he should have been promoted in rank to Sergeant or reduced in rank to patrol officer but he remained a Corporal until he was eventually appointed the Chief of Police.

Chief Sinclair wanted the officers to be visible to the public. He initiated a bank

watch and received some resistance from the officers. Officers were directed to stop at the banks and sign a log to indicate they checked in. He found that some officers had other private interests that took priority over their police position. During his tenure there were some resignations.

Chief Sinclair found that there was no structure to the department. Officers were not

accustomed to following operational orders for various events such as the Fire Department Carnival. He also directed the officers do a park and walk to have them interact with the merchants and citizens in the business district.

Corporal Trachta was second in command and other officers were hired to replace

those that left. Chief Sinclair resigned his position in 2009 to take a similar position as the Chief of Police in West Conshohocken Borough.

When Chief Sinclair departed, Nazareth Borough Council promoted Corporal

Thomas Trachta to Chief of Police on a Civil Service non-competitive examination. This type of hire is permitted for the position of a Chief of Police in the Commonwealth.

No formal testing process was needed. However, once a Chief is sworn in and

completes a satisfactory probationary period under Civil Service the position becomes permanent and he cannot be discharged without just cause.

It appears that tension between the police department and Borough Council seems to

have escalated when Chief Trachta was appointed to the position. There was also another Mayor in office at that time. In a Borough form of government the Mayor is the executive head of the police department. Many Mayors feel the Chief is a professional law enforcement officer and leave the day-to-day operations of the department in his/her hands. This was not and is not happening in Nazareth Borough. The Mayor and/or Council have not completely relinquished the authority and allowed the Chief to run the police department freely at will.


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It also might be noted that during Chief Trachtas tenure in office there have been at least three investigative contacts between members of the governing body and the police department that have resulted in negative feelings toward the Chief and some members of the department. There are some who question his leadership role, some who feel there should be more productivity with certain members of the police department; while some feel he is not loyal to the Borough (like someone born and raised there).

The Chief has indicated that he has not been given the opportunity to operate the

police department without some type of micromanagement hindering his method of resolving various problems (such as backing up his recommendations on disciplinary problems or in the hiring process). During the on-site interviews there were numerous incidents reported involving members of the department, or governing body that at some point affected others in the police department or Borough but are beyond the scope of this study. There have been numerous IA (Internal Affairs Investigations) conducted over the past several years with varying degrees of discipline recommended.

Micromanaging is taking place in many areas, such as budgeting and discipline.

Disciplining some of the officers seems to have gotten sidetracked. The Chief indicated that he has recommended discipline to the Mayor for certain documented incidents and no action was taken. The Chief can only recommend discipline. He can document a violation if a verbal warning were issued and place the documentation in a personnel file. He can write a letter of warning to be placed in a personnel file but only the Mayor and Council can impose suspension or other disciplinary action resulting in loss of time or pay.

Progressive disciplinary steps must be taken and documented, for the courts to rule

in favor of the governing body and that has not happened. Since the hiring of the new part time Deputy Chief, grievances and discipline have been turned over to him.

The Nazareth Police Department appears to have had various problems over the

years, which has become frustrating and costly to the governmental body. Some of the Borough Officials commented over the cost of litigation. One official said that legal fees are $400,000 and they used to be $40,000. Another said that $1.3 million dollars has been spent in arbitration costs since 2008.

Finally, another said that legal fees in 2013 were $126,000 and rose to $246,000 in

2014. These figures are certainly upsetting to the Borough officials who are trying to operate within a pre-planned budget.

The solicitor indicated that litigation is not new to Nazareth Borough; it has taken

place for many years. During the on-site interviews it was pointed out by several individuals that there have been numerous grievances filed by the officers along with unfair labor practice suits. One officer was terminated in 2012 and filed a suit on wrongful termination. An arbitrator ruled on the suit in 2014 and determined that the officer should have been disciplined and suspended for a 30-day period, not terminated. The arbitrator ruled that the officer be reinstated, resulting in two years of back pay being awarded.


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Another suit dealt with the loss of shift differential. Another one deals with a complaint to the Human Relations Commission.

Currently, according to the Solicitor there are two Civil Rights Lawsuits filed in

Federal Court, four unfair labor practice suits, and three collective bargaining cases. In addition, the Borough was put on notice regarding three individuals that were arrested for vandalism but nothing has materialized as of this point in time. It was pointed out that traditionally Nazareth Borough has been the recipient of lawsuits for many years, not just recently.

The Borough Councils response to these many laws suits was to hire a Professional

Consultant, who had previous police experience, as a part time police officer with the title of Deputy Chief to review the departmental policy and procedures manual and make policy changes where necessary. He was also given the responsibility of dealing with all disciplinary cases and grievances. In addition he was given the responsibility of scheduling training for the officers.

Another move by Borough Council was to hire another Human Resource

Professional Consultant to review and consolidate all the police personnel files, which were located in three separate locations (Police Chiefs Office, Mayors Office, and Secretary/Treasurers Office). The Human Resource Consultant and I have spoken and exchanged some information on the organization of personnel files.

It might be noted that the personnel files have been removed previously from the

Chiefs office four years ago in 2011. The personnel files will be addressed in the Records Section of this report.

All this activity, which has nothing to do with actual police work, has resulted in confusion and tension for everyone. The Chief documents most of his activities in emails with copies forwarded to the Mayor and the Solicitor (when necessary). Prior to August of 2014 the Chief operated the department with two full time officers supplemented by part time officers. Borough Council reinstated the dismissed officer in August 2014, along with hiring another full time officer from the Civil Service List. Currently there are four full time officers who are scheduled for 12-hour shifts and the Chief, who works an 8-hour shift. Part time officers supplement the full time officers. Part time officers usually work an 8-hour shift. When the management study was initiated in November 2014 there were ten part time officers, however during the course of the study five of them obtained full time positions with other law enforcement agencies. There also appears to be a rift between some of the full time officers and some of the part time officers over productivity and workload. There is one full time officer assigned to each 12-hour shift, supplemented by a part time officer.


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When the Deputy Chief was hired in December 2014, the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission did not immediately certify him. Therefore legally, he could not patrol or back up any officer since he was not authorized to carry a firearm. Additionally, he had no authority to make arrests or write citations.

If an officer called off sick for patrol, the other officer would have to work alone,

since the Chief was not authorized to replace the officer that called off because the Deputy Chief was working. In April, the Deputy Chiefs MPOETC Certification arrived so he can officially carry a firearm, make arrests and write citations. However, he is still an administrative officer and has not been assigned a slot on the patrol duty schedule.

In 2010/11, the previous Mayor and Council once again seriously considered regionalization with the Colonial Regional Police Department. Meetings were held and a proposal was made for Colonial Regional to take over the policing of Nazareth Borough. One of the stipulations of the agreement was for Colonial Regional to hire the full time officers from Nazareth Borough. The former Mayor advised the Chief, that the transition could be made easier if he were to step down as Chief. As it turned out, one of the other municipalities would not agree to the condition of hiring the officers from Nazareth Borough, so the proposal was cancelled. It was also pointed out during on site interviews that the current Chief of the Colonial Regional Police Department, as well as the Deputy Chief were both offered the Chiefs Position in Nazareth. The Chief informed the former Mayor that he was not vacating the Chiefs position. Despite all the distractions the police department is still operating satisfactorily, with the Chief and four full time officers, supplemented by a fluctuating part time staff. Once again the recommendations in this study have nothing to do with the current litigation that is taking place, which certainly is a distraction to the employees. The purpose is to try and point out some areas of the police service that can be improved upon. Hopefully, some recommendations can be made that will result in a greater effort by everyone to get on the same track in order to provide the community with the level of service that the public is accustomed to and deserves.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

CURRENT POLICE ORGANIZATION

Change the term patrolman to patrol or police officer Add the rank of Corporal to the police ordinance Change organizational chart to reflect chain of command Review non-available time pertaining to duty schedule Update Policy Manual (Work in Progress) Initiate Management Team Approach to Solve Problems Consider incentive program for education/training Consider supervisory training Consider need for first-line supervisor Follow civil service guidelines for hiring Insure everyone knows responsibilities of various units

POLICE EXPENDITURES

The Police Chief should be included in budget preparation from the beginning

If he has a say in the budgetary figures, then he can be held responsible for managing the budget, which is a continuing process

AGENCY EFFECTIVENESS IN FIELD OPERATIONS

Monitor follow up status on solvable cases Officers strive to enter data on reports necessary for PSP & FBI Continue the vacation checks and business checks on the night shifts Consider the use of door check and alarm cards Remind officers that all citizen contacts reflect back on department Remind the officers about the quality of life issues that disturb people

POLICE PATROL FUNCTION

Closely monitor schedule to insure adequate coverage Hire more personnel (full time/part time) to fill void Consider two officers on all shifts Review departmental patrol operations policies Review considerations for patrol operations Review and implement list of priorities (Colonial Regional) Review basic hours needed for patrol


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POLICY DEVELOPMENT / REGULATIONS

Review mandated policies first to insure compliance Review Hate Crime policy from Bethlehem, if appropriate, adopt Review list of approximately 30 recommendations in the narrative and make

changes Initiate action on policies approved by Chief, Deputy Chief, Mayor, Solicitor

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, SUPPORT SERVICES

Mayor is executive leader of police department Chief of Police in Charge of Police Department Police committee review guidelines of authority Prioritize requests for police training/equipment Follow Chain of Command for decision making

ROLE OF POLICE CHIEF IN BUDGET PROCESS

Include the police chief in the entire budgetary process RECORDS SYSTEM

Consider adding one more user on the ALERT System. The department now has a Deputy Chief, who is on the computer frequently. The Chief, Deputy Chief and Administrative Assist all need to use the computer on a regular daily basis.

Consider re-instituting the daily log sheet for more accountability Use Case File Checklist for more uniformity in the arrest case files Remind officers the importance of adding the age, sex and race of all victims and suspects and putting the value of stolen and recovered property in the

computer for Uniform Crime Reporting Initial incident reports may not be not be totally correct. Therefore, a new printout should be downloaded for insurance requests

PERSONNEL FILES

J.E. Trella and Associates is reviewing all the police personnel files to upgrade There is a comment at the lower portion of each file if any adjustments need to

be made to the file (**) Medical and Psychological evaluations or reports and workmans compensation

claims need to be placed in a separate folder. A decision must be made as to who will hold the master file (Mayor or

Secretary/Treasurer) The Chief should have a working copy for the police department


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Documentation of verbal/or written warnings is important and shows progressive discipline

Recommendations for discipline or remedial training must be acted upon from the beginning of a known problem

IA (Internal Affairs) Investigation reports should conclude with a recommendation from the Chief to the Mayor for specific disciplinary action/or conclusion that there was no discipline recommended

PERSONNEL, TRAINING, MANAGEMENT

Insure that police policies and civil service regulations are identical when it comes to the hiring of full-time police personnel

Only Veteran Preference Points can be added to a candidates score Conduct a thorough background on all police hires (part time and full time) Adhere to the training requirements in the policy Deputy chief closely review and evaluate hiring process and subsequent

training POLICE FACILITY

Consider usage of drive-in facility when vacated Current evidence room is inadequate for storage

VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT

Continue to stay in the pattern of phasing out the older, high mileage vehicles from the fleet for officer safety

Alternate the use of the patrol vehicles, so the new cars are not used on a continuous basis

After a patrol vehicle reaches 40,000 to 50,000 miles, pull from the patrol schedule and use as an unmarked vehicle if needed

Draft a policy for the I PAD Inventory the day-to-day equipment, and replace if necessary

EVIDENCE

Deputy Chief needs to review GO Directive 11.00.00 and 11.01.00 to insure necessary changes are made

Contact Commonwealth State Treasury for confirmation of property disposal Assign someone the task of purging old evidence/property Begin cleaning out the evidence room of unwanted property Obtain court orders to be able to destroy old weapons and old property Contact Commonwealth of PA for regulations concerning disposal of

property


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If bank drive-in relocates and leaves safe behind, use for temporary storage of some property

PROPOSED ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING

Goal should be two officers/per shift/separate cars More personnel needed to fulfill goal of two officers per shift Monitor schedule closely to insure maximum coverage of personnel usage Hire part time personnel to fill void

CONCEPT OF REGIONAL POLICING

Keep options opened for regionalization GOVERNING BODY AND POLICE RELATIONSHIP

Elected officials/police administrators call truce and work together toward a common goal survival of police department

Moratorium on internal conflicts for 12-24 months to resolve internal issues Present a united front (Mayor/Council/Police Administration) Mayor/Chief/Deputy Chief work in unison toward achieving goals

CONCLUSION

Concentrated effort by elected officials, police administrators to present a unified body in order to move forward in policing the Borough


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CURRENT POLICE ORGANIZATION

As per authorization of Section 1121 of the Borough Code, 53 P.S. 46121, the Borough of Nazareth passed Ordinance #401 re-establishing the police department, which was originally established by ordinance #366 on July 3, 1967. The Chief of Police was authorized to be the Chief Executive of the Police Department under the direction of the Mayor.

Section #402 listed the Classifications (of rank) within the police department.

Subordinate to the Chief of Police in the Police Department, the classifications of Deputy Chief, Sergeant and Patrolman are hereby established.

It might be noted at this point that Chief Thomas Trachta was hired part time in 2007

with the designated rank of Corporal. There is no rank of Corporal in the Police Ordinance section of the Codified Ordinances.

It might also be noted that upon undertaking this study a diagram of the Police

Department organizational chart (or structure) was presented to me on the first day. The Mayor is listed at the top of the organizational chart and rightfully so. However, beneath the Mayor there is a block titled Police Chief (Operational) and on the same level, a second block titled Deputy Chief (Administration). There are arrows pointing from both blocks leading directly to the Mayor. Below the Chief and Deputy Chief there are four blocks titled Full Time Officer and beneath those four blocks is a longer block entitled Part time Officers. The arrows from the part time officers and full time officers move upward and then separate one going to the Chief of Police and the other going to the Deputy Chief.

This is highly unusual because police are quasi-military and follow a chain of

command. All officers learn who their direct supervisor is and report directly to that supervisor. This organizational chart appears to give officers an option of going to the Chief of Police or the Deputy Chief. This type of structure can cause problems because it deviates from the norm. The arrows should lead directly to the Deputy Chief, then to the Police Chief and finally to the Mayor. It is a step process and its the way the military chain of command works. It appears that the authority of the Chief of Police is being undermined and certainly breaks down the structure of the department. Whatever the problem is the Deputy Chief should discuss it with the Chief and if a resolution cannot be reached then address the problem with the Mayor.

It was pointed out that the Deputy Chief was hired to review and upgrade the Rules

and Regulations (Policy) Manual and handle disciplinary problems within the department but his resolution to a problem should go through the Chief and then to the Mayor.

The officers just received a new retroactive contract resulting in an approximate

salary increase of 4% per year for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Chief received a new contract with no increase in pay plus a deduction for health care benefits.


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It also might be noted that the Deputy Chief, who was hired part time is making $40 per hour versus the salary of the Full Time Chief, who makes a salary of approximately $33 per hour.

The Chiefs salary is not at issue here but the Mayor and Council are certainly

sending a message. However, the Chief does not appear to be deterred in any way from running the day-to-day operations of the Nazareth Police Department.

The organizational structure of a police department is built on Patrol. Patrol is the

backbone of all police departments. Patrol falls within the Field Services Division of the police department. Field Services are activities that are in direct contact with the public or are performed on the street such as patrol, criminal investigation and youth services.

Another important function of the organizational structure is Staff Services.

Staff Services are those functions that are associated with administering the police department, preparing and supporting the officer such as training, personnel management, community relations, crime prevention, planning and research. Finally, the third component of the structure is Auxiliary Services. This category includes such activities as police records, police communications, the detention area, jail or holding facility. According to a report published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2008, titled Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, Pennsylvania has the most local police departments (965) followed by Texas (788), Illinois (701), Ohio (678) and New Jersey (476). The report also points out that 53%* of all police departments nationwide employed fewer than 10 officers* which accounted for only 6%* of the police population nationally (*Based on full time sworn personnel). The Commonwealth reported as of January 2013 there were 2,561 Municipalities. Of that number, the Pennsylvania State Police serviced 1,266 of those municipalities. The remaining municipalities were serviced by 1,295 local police departments, consisting of 855 full-time, 133 part-time, 115 consolidated (regional) and 192 under contractual agreement with another department. In these small departments the majority of these additional categories of Field Services, Staff Services and Auxiliary Services will fall directly on the shoulders of the Police Chief or his/her designee. Normally there will not be a lot of rank or specialty positions in a small department. Depending on the size of the agency the following principals should be applied:

Grouping by function Police operations falling into the same category should be placed in the same unit (Field, Staff or Auxiliary Services).


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Unity of Command For any action the employee should receive orders from only one supervisor.

Chain of Command The chain of supervisors from top to bottom and reverse.

Communications need to flow smoothly both upward and downward in the chain. If the chain is broken an individual cannot be held responsible.

Unity of Direction One head and one plan should exist for the group having the

same objective.

Authority and Responsibility Those given a responsibility to carry out a task or function must be given the authority to carry it out. Top management has the responsibility and is accountable for everything that happens in the organization.

Span of Control A maximum of seven or eight employees reporting to one

supervisor.

SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS

Supervisory positions should exist only in the amount necessary to provide adequate direction.

The same rank should have the same responsibility line supervisors should all be

the same rank

Rank should be associated with positions of leadership. Rank should not be assigned to specialty positions such as a juvenile officer, an investigator, etc. unless there is a unit and subordinates to supervise.

Rank should be transferable. Sergeant in charge of patrol should be able to

supervise a traffic unit or a criminal investigation unit.

Span of control two to eight persons in the unit

Specialization should not be created unless necessary. For every specialty position there is one less patrol officer on the street.

Using Civilians civilians can be use in areas that does not require the exercise of

police authority or the application of special police knowledge, aptitude or skills. Currently there are five full time officers on the department that are supplemented by

part time officers. Patrol is the backbone of all police agencies regardless of the size. It all begins with patrol. According to their contract the officers work six 12-hour shifts and one 8-hour shift (Sunday) during a two-week pay period (80 hours).


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Since there are currently four full time officers and there are two 12-hour shifts per day two full time officers are scheduled for day shifts and two full time officers are scheduled for the evening/overnight shift.

Two full time officers are working, while the other two full time officers are off.

Part time officers supplement the full time officers but they work 8-hour shifts and there is usually one scheduled to work along with a full time officer. Neither the Chief, nor the newly hired Deputy Chief is on the regular patrol schedule. One of the problems confronting the Chief is lack of personnel. There are only four full time officers. The full time officers work 12-hour shifts. The duty schedule requires the officer to work six (6) 12-hour shifts and (1) 8-hour shift (Sunday) every 80-hour pay period. If officers worked 24-hours-a-day-7-days-a-week-365-days-a-year there would only be a need for the four full time officers, however, officers are not robots and require time off. There are regular days off, vacation days, personal days, holidays, sick days, wellness days and time away from duty for court. The length of time that an officer has been employed designates how much time the officer has off the duty schedule. If officers did work every day for a 12-hour shift they would work 365 days @ 12 hours each day for a total of 4,380 hours.

Officer Koch is the senior officer and has the following amount of time accumulated:

Regular days off 2,190 hours, 160 hours vacation, 40 hours personal days, 80 hours holidays, 240 hours sick time, 56 training hours, 32 bereavement hours and 2 wellness days 16 hours, 80 hours military leave. Total amount of time off is 2,894 hours. If you subtract the 2,894 hours from the amount of time on the schedule (4,380 hours) it means that Officer Koch can contribute 1,486 hours toward the duty schedule.

Officer Lahovski is entitled to 120 hours vacation, while Officer Schleig is entitled to 80 hours vacation. The newest Officer will be entitled to 80 hours vacation in 2015. The other benefits remain about equal. No one can accurately predict sick time or bereavement leave. In 2014 it appears that the officers used less than 100 hours sick time, no bereavement time or wellness days.

However, to provide some type of estimate the following projected use of time is

being used. All officers will not have all the holidays off. If the officer were working he would receive double time. If the holiday falls on an officers day off, they are entitled to another day off.

Revised Average: Non-available time: Weekly hours off 2,190 hours Vacation hours 110 hours Personal hours 40 hours Holiday hours 80 hours


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Sick time hours 25 hours Wellness hours 16 hours Training hours 56 hours Bereavement hours 32 hours Military hours 40 hours Total non-available time 2,589 hours Subtract 2,589 hours (non-available time) from the 4,380 hours that is required for

each shift on the duty schedule and the full time officers contribute 1,791 each toward the schedule. Since each day requires four 4,380-hour shifts, it is necessary to fill 17,520 hours to have two-officer coverage for an entire year. The four full time officers combined can only contribute 7,164 hours leaving a balance of 10,356 hours, which currently needs to be filled by part time officers. Currently all shifts DO NOT has two officer patrols resulting of a cutback in some of those hours.

In todays society, due to increased danger and disrespect for the law enforcement community, there should be two officers working at all times. This topic will be addressed again in the Proposed Organization and Staffing section.

There is a Police Management Checklist that the Police Administrator reviews and

answers in order to give some direction to problem areas. There were a couple of statements in the Police Department Structure Section that caused some concern for the Chief.

(1) It is important that each member of the organization be aware of the duties,

responsibilities and functions of each unit. There is some concern in this area. It is necessary for each officer to know what their role involves in the overall big picture of law enforcement in the community.

(2) Officers should be held accountable for each task in law enforcement. If its a

case of shared responsibility, its important that each officer who is responsible when a decision needs to be made.

(3) There is also some concern about adequate supervision being provided at all

times. The problem with Nazareth is that it only has four full time officers, supplemented by a part time staff. There are no supervisors other than the Chief and the newly hired Deputy Chief, neither of which is on the regular duty schedule.

It does appear that each officer on the department, including the civilian staff does

know to whom they are responsible and who is accountable to them. Currently there are only two existing ranks and leadership responsibilities are connected with both the Chief and Deputy Chiefs positions.

The police department is too small to have the patrol force geographically divided by

workload. It is also too small for the department to have specialized units within the


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department. Another area of concern seemed to be the Rules and Regulations or Policy Manual. The existing manual is basically good. It just needs some updating, which the Deputy Chief is working on. It will be addressed later in this report.

Another area of concern is the Management of Information, including the budget

process. Personalities need to be put aside, teambuilding needs to begin. Nazareth will never move forward until everyone is working on the same team. The Budget is an important issue and also will be discussed in the report.

Leadership has been mentioned many times during the on-site interview process.

The hiring process needs to follow the civil service guidelines and hiring part time outside those guidelines has caused problems. This is no reflection on the current Chief or Deputy Chief, but the process needs to be followed to avoid problems in the future.

Officers need to have some incentive to move upward in the department. Even though the department is small it could use a first line supervisor. Another thought might be to create a Police Officer First Class position, whereby an officer would be recognized for a certain number of years on the job and a specific time period in which the officer was free from any disciplinary action. It would be more of a status rank with the officer displaying one chevron on the sleeve. There is also a need for first line supervisor training, which Officer Koch could have used back in 2005, when he was designated the Officer-In-Charge for a considerable amount of time. The chain of command is also being circumvented resulting in the weakening of the police organizational structure. These are some of the issues that need to be addressed in the remainder of the report.

If the suggestion of PFC (Police Officer First Class) were to be considered there

would need to be a change in the ordinance, the same as if the rank of Corporal were introduced to the department. Criteria would be developed in addition to a job description. If the PFC rank were to be considered as more of a status symbol of years of service, combined with no disciplinary action within a certain period of time, the Borough and the Police Association could agree it upon.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Change the term patrolman to patrol or police officer Add the rank of Corporal to the police ordinance Change organizational chart to reflect chain of command Review non-available time pertaining to duty schedule Update Policy Manual (Work in Progress) Consider PFC rank (one stripe) as a status symbol for years of service Initiate Management Team Approach to Solve Problems Consider incentive program for education/training Consider supervisory training Follow civil service guidelines for hiring Insure everyone knows responsibilities of various units Consider need for first-line supervisor


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POLICE EXPENDITURES

The Secretary/Treasurer provided a copy of the final Treasurers Report for the year 2014. The figures contained in the report are used to provide some insight as to the cost of policing in the community. However, to someone not connected with the Borough of Nazareth the expenditures appeared to be somewhat excessive and not necessarily with the police department, which is usually the largest expenditure that a municipality has to fund.

After reviewing the budget figures more closely, a few figures began to surface that

would provide an explanation and show that 2014 was not a normal year in the Borough of Nazareth regarding expenses. For example, not many smaller municipalities have a municipal pool as part of their recreational budget. Nazareth does have a pool and it needed to be replaced. So the total for line item 451 Recreation was $2,057,573.72, which far exceeded line item 410 Police which totaled $817,770.71.

Another expense, which was somewhat large, was the Fire Departments line item

411 of $745,452.29. However, a closer looked revealed that the Fire Department needed a new piece of Fire Apparatus for $647,104.00, which ended up being $47,104.00 over budget.

Public works line item 430 was $660,163.69, which was actually $333,446.21 under

what had been projected for the years expenses. Apparently the Public Works Employees contributed time, effort and expense in the pool project.

The line item totals were compared with the overall municipal budget total and

ranked to show where 94% of the larger expenditures were needed to efficiently operate Nazareth Borough for the year 2014:

Total Capital Outlay for 2014: $6,569,380.22 #1 Line item 451 Recreation $ 2,057,573.72 31.32% #2 Line item 410 Police Dept. $ 817,770.71 12.44% #3 Line item 411 Fire Dept. $ 745,452.29 11.34% #4 Line item 430 Highway Dept. $ 660,163.79 10.04% #5 Line item 427 Sanitation Dept. $ 616,829.68 09.37% #6 Line item 480 Miscellaneous $ 592,751.87 09.02% #7 Line item 400 Administration $ 451,131.90 06.86% #8 Line item 409 Buildings $ 270,828.65 04.12% I spoke with Christine Lilly, Assistant to Secretary/Treasurer Paul Kokolus, who

clarified that it was an unusual year for expenditures, although council was prepared and the monies were budgeted where necessary and the Borough ended up with $995,950.78 on the plus side.

As indicated above Police expenditures were $817,770.71, which was $4,390.71

over budget. It should be noted that the police department was operating with only two full


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time officers in addition to the Chief for eight months of the year. Therefore, the salaries of part time patrol officers was over budget by $16,185.00 and the overtime for full time officers was over budget by $18,975.00. Fortunately, the Chief was able to conserve in many other areas of the budget and the overage was limited to less than $5,000. A check with the previous years police budget indicated $124,000.00 under budget.

The line items that were over budget in the 2014 police budget are as follows:

(Dollar figures are rounded)

Chiefs Salary $ 2,170.00 PT Police officer $16,185.00 Longevity $ 1,548.00 FT Officer overtime $18,795.00 Shift differential $ 1,414.00 Gas/oil $ 232.00 Ammunition $ 568.00 General expense $ 849.00 Repair parts $ 88.00 Advertising/printing $ 199.00 Maintenance vehicles $ 479.00 Maintenance park meters $ 138.00

TOTAL: $ 4,265.00 ($1.25 less due to rounding)

It was estimated that the officers provided approximately 14,000 hours of service to the Borough. This figure does not include the Chief of Police, whose primary function is administration. It was pointed out that 2014 was somewhat unusual budget-wise and it effected the police department as well.

If four officers worked each day filling four 12-hour shifts the annual total without overtime would be 17,520 hours (4,380 hours for one shift per year x four shifts per day = 17,520 hours).

Nazareth Police only had two full time officers working for the entire year. It was already estimated in the previous section that full time officers contribute an average of 1,791 hours. There were two full time officers that worked slightly more than 1/3 of a year, which is approximately 610 hours each.

Using the hourly pay rate of part time officers ($22.00) per hour it was estimated that

they contributed 8,690 hours of regular time ($191,185.00 $22.00) and an additional 437 hours of overtime ($14,438.00 $33.00 = 437 hours) Using the senior patrol officers salary ($60,853 2,190 hours) it is estimated that the hourly rate is $27.78, resulting in an overtime rate of $41.67. Full time officers worked an additional 739 hours ($30,795 OT $41.67 = 739)

Estimated hours of work for 2014 based on budget figures:


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2 full time officers (all year) 1,791 each 3,582 hours 2 full time officers (1/3 year Sept. Dec.) 610 each 1,220 hours X full time officers (OT $30,795 $41.67 per hour) 739 hours X part time officers ($191,185 $22.00 per hour) 8,690 hours X part time officers ($ 14,438 $33.00 per hour) 437 hours TOTAL: 14,668 hours

Officers worked an estimated 14,668 hours in the Borough of Nazareth. The goal of the department should be to have two duty officers on shift at all times. This was somewhat of a concern during the on-site interview process. Officer safety is always a concern. It has already been determined that full time personnel contribute 1,791 hours. Newer officers having less time in rank would contribute more time since they have less seniority. If the total amount of hours 17,520 were divided by the availability factor without any other consideration it would take ten full time officers to patrol the Borough of Nazareth (17,520 hours 1,791 = 9.78 officers). Personnel will be discussed in the Projected Future Staffing section of this report. The International Association of Chiefs of Police have utilized a formula for many years in determining personnel needs based on the number of calls responded to by the police department. They have found that police, on the average, respond to 55 calls per 1,000 persons on an annual basis. Since Nazareth Boroughs population is 5,723, it is estimated that the police handle approximately 3,148 calls per year (5,723 x .55 = 3,148).

The above information on the number of hours worked and the number of calls responded to is to provide the following information regarding police expenditures in the Borough of Nazareth. The total Municipal Budget for 2014 was $6,569,380.00. The total Police budget was $817,770.00, which is 12.44% of the total municipal budget. Police personnel expenses ($733,598.00 sworn personnel/administration/parking enforcement/crossing guards) versus the total Police budget ($817,770.00) were 89.7%. Sworn officer personnel expenses ($566,522.00 salary, shift differential, longevity, overtime, special events) versus the total police budget ($817,770.00) were 69.27%. Sworn officer personnel expenses ($566,522.00) versus the total of police personnel expenses ($733,598.00) were 77.22%. Support personnel staff salary expenses ($158,154.00) versus the total of police personnel expenses ($733,598.00) were 21.55%; versus total police budget ($817,770.00) was 19.33%. Monetary reimbursement for sworn personnel ($8,922 education, clothing, uniforms, training, and travel) versus the police budget ($817,770.00) was 01. %.


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Versus the police personnel expenses ($733,598.00) was 0.12% Average cost of police service ($817,770.00) per hour (14,748 hours) was $55.44 (administration not included). Average Cost of police service ($817,770.00) per incident (3,148 incidents) was $260.00. Average cost of police service ($817,770.00) per resident (5,723) was $143.00. Average cost of police service ($817,770.00) per housing unit (2,735) was $299.00.


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POLICE COST DATA ANALYSIS

Municipal Capital fund expenses for the year 2014 $6,569,380.00 Police budget for 2014 $ 817,770.00 Percentage of Police budget versus municipal budget 12.44% Police personnel expenses (salary, etc.) $ 733,598.00 Percentage of police personnel expense vs. police budget 89.7% Sworn police personnel expenses $ 566,522.00 Percentage of sworn officer expense vs. personnel cost 77.22% Support personnel cost $ 158,154.00 Percentage of support staff expense vs. personnel cost 21.55% Sworn personnel cost vs. police budget 69.27% Percentage Support staff personnel cost vs. police budget 19.33% Average cost of police service per hour (14,748 hours) $ 55.44 Average cost of police service per incident (3,148) $ 260.00 Average cost of police service per resident (5,723) $ 143.00 Average cost of police service per housing unit (2,735) $ 299.00

The budget expenditure section has few recommendations because its statistical

data to be reviewed and analyzed by the Mayor, Chief and members of the police and or finance committee. It is very important that the Chief be an integral part of the budget committee. He cannot be expected to be responsible for expenses if he has no background knowledge of how the line item amounts were arrived at. Remember in running any business TEAM WORK is necessary for it to be beneficial.

It might be noted that the final police expenditure for the year 2013 was

$633,650.00, which was $124,029.00 under the projected budget figure of $757,680.00. The projected cost of providing police service from Colonial Regional Police Department for the year 2013 was $912,622.00 (a significant difference of $278,972.00)

The final expenditure figure for the year 2014 was $817,770.00, which was

$4,390.00 over the projected figure of $813,380.00. A reasonable explanation was provided for the difference. The projected cost of providing police service from Colonial Regional for the year 2014 was $917,812.00 (a difference of $100,042.00).

The 2015 budget has not been completed but the projected cost to provide police

service for the year from Colonial Regional was $955,722.00, which is a $37,900.00 increase over 2014.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Police Chief should be included in budget preparation from the beginning

If he has a say in the budgetary figures, then he can be held responsible for managing the budget, which is a continuing process throughout the year


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AGENCY EFFECTIVENESS IN FIELD OPERATIONS The effectiveness of a police agency is determined by many factors. Police officers and many administrators consider the primary function of the police department to be preventing and controlling crime. In reality only 15% of the departments time is spent in this area, while 85% is spent providing services to the community and in other activities not associated with crime. It must be noted that crime prevention is probably the most important responsibility of the police department and the major concern of local citizens. Police agencies are often judged by their ability to cope with crime when it does occur. However, much of what a police officer does in their daily routine cannot be judged by measurable standards. There is a national standard for measuring crime in United States, which has been in place since 1930. The standard is known as the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and is regulated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). There are approximately 17,000 law enforcement agencies that contribute to the UCR in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, municipal police agencies as well as the state police stations submit data to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) on all crimes reported to their agency each month. The PSP records the data and then forwards it to the FBI. This data is the basis of determining crime trends in the U.S. and the results appear on a quarterly basis in the nations newspapers. Participation in the Uniform Crime Reporting system became mandatory for PA police departments in June 2005. Failure to submit UCR data can result in loss of grant funding for the municipality. Crimes are classified as PART I Offenses, also referred to as INDEX crimes (serious) and PART II Offenses (less serious). There are eight PART I Offenses, which are listed according to their level of seriousness: homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault (which are also known as predatory crimes). These four serious predatory crimes are followed by four serious property crimes; burglary, theft, auto theft and arson.

There are eighteen less serious offenses listed in the PART II category. Crimes such as fraud, forgery, and vandalism, driving under the influence, liquor offenses, disorderly conduct and narcotics are categorized as PART II Offenses.

Victoria Rubio, Administrative Assistant is responsible for submitting the Uniform Crime Report at the end of the month. Nazareth is fortunate to not have a lot a serious crime overall, however they do have their fair share. There were 68 Part I (serious offenses) in 2014, which was a decline from 2013, when there were 90.

There was one rape and one attempted rape compared to two rapes the previous year.

There were 5 aggravated assaults compared to 10 the previous year. There was only one attempted burglary recorded in 2014 compared to 18 burglaries and two attempts in 2013.

Theft remained almost the same with 55 being recorded compared to 53 the previous

year. There was one auto theft reported in 2014, whereas there were none in 2013. Five of the aggravated assault cases were solved along with eight of the thefts compared to ten


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cleared assault cases and seven theft cases in 2013. The police no longer have an investigator, so the patrol officers need to follow up on their own cases. There was an increase In the Part II or less serious offense category with 257 documented in 2014 compared to 215 the previous year. There were four simple assaults recorded compared to ten the previous year. Only two of those were solved compared to eight the previous year. Fraud complaints almost doubled rising from ten in 2013 to eighteen in 2014, where vandalism complaints dropped almost 50% with 43 being reported compared to 80 the previous year. Two of the fraud cases and two vandalism cases were solved. Narcotics cases almost tripled with 35 being documented in 2014, while 10 were documented the previous year. A total of 26 drug cases were cleared in 2014 compared to 10 the previous year. There were 27 alcohol related, DUI, Underage drinking and public drunkenness recorded in 2014 compared to 16 the previous year. There were 21 arrests in 2014 compared to 10 in 2013. There were 77 disorderly conduct complaints documented in 2014 compared to 51 the previous year. There were 12 disorderly arrests compared to 9 the previous year. Overall a total of 96 cases were cleared in 2014 compared to 73 the previous year. Overall 29.3% of the reported cases were cleared in 2014 (96/327) compared to 23.9% the previous year (73/305). Cases are cleared either by arrest or by identifying the suspect but being prevented from making an actual arrest such as a murder/suicide or a suspect being a family member in a theft or fraud case and the victim refusing to testify. The solvability factor varies depending on the crime. Burglary and theft type crimes usually have a lower solvability factor due to the victim and suspect being a stranger, whereby homicide and assault cases have a higher solvability factor since many times the victim and the offender are known to one another. During the year 2014 the Chief, two full time officers and numerous part time officers worked the duty schedule. It was not until August when two more full time officers were added to the schedule. There were no more investigators to do follow up investigations, so it was necessary for the patrol officers to do their own follow up. Any citizen can go to the PA State Police website by typing in PSP UCR. Once the page appears the actual UCR specific information can be obtained by selecting certain fields. However, the PSP offer a simpler version called PA Aware, which shows a municipalitys comparison in certain crime categories with that of the County. Any municipality can be viewed and a comparison made with other municipalities. Below is a comparison of Nazareth Borough, Colonial Regional, Upper Nazareth Township, Palmer Township, Stockertown and Tatamy.

The comparison shows how many crimes were solved in certain categories. The first number is the number of crimes solved, then a diagonal slash / in front of the number of crimes reported and a clearance percentage. The only number shown for the county is the clearance rate in each category of crime. Also note the 25% clearance rate for the county.


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This indicates that the county solved all their homicide cases in 2014 and solved one or more cases that occurred the previous year. Crime clearances can be carried over from one year to the next. Municipality Homicide Sexual Robbery Assault Property Drugs Alcohol County 125% 52% 35% 89.86 % 23.7% 84.92% 99.81% Nazareth 0/0 0/0 7/15 12/118 26/35 19/24 75% 46.67% 10.17% 74.29% 79.17% Colonial 0/0 9/11 1/6 28/34 291/766 82/87 82/83 81.82% 16.67% 82.35% 37.99% 94.25% 98.80% Upper Nazareth 0/0 0/2 0/0 2/9 6/93 2/4 11/19 0 % 0/0 22.22% 6.45% 50% 57.89% Palmer 0/0 2/9 4/9 24/35 119/497 12/13 32/35 22.0% 44.44% 68.57% 23.94% 92.31% 91.43% Stockertown 0/0 0/0 0/0 1/1 0/0 0/0 0/0 100% Tatamy 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/28 0/2 2/3 0% 0% 66.67% Its obvious that Colonial Regional has the largest area with Lower Nazareth, Hanover Townships, Bath and Chapman Boroughs. After Colonial Regional and Palmer Township, Nazareth Borough has the third highest number of incidents. The clearance rate for Nazareth Borough is lower than the county average and the two larger agencies. However, considering that there were only three full time officers for nine months out of the year its not bad. When the opportunity to conduct follow up investigations is hampered due to lack of personnel it becomes somewhat frustrating. On a broader scale the FBI reports that in 2010 47.2% of violent crimes were cleared through arrest or exceptional means and 18.3 % of property crimes were cleared. Generally property crimes have a much lower clearance rate because they are committed by sneak thieves, whereas victims and suspects are more likely known to one another in more violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault cases. In order to review the above information regarding any municipality they must access the system in the following manner:

1) Enter search for PSP UCR 2) PA Uniform Crime Reporting System will appear


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3) Click on the link 4) A page will appear with tabs at the top. CLICK on the word Reports 5) Another page will appear. Clink on the last line ARE YOU AWARE? 6) A map of PA will appear showing all the counties 7) Click on your county 8) A page will appear with statistics. The pages are alphabetical. 9) Scroll down to the municipality that you want to check.

The Police use a software package called Alert from Metro Technology. As officers

enter their reports in the system it captures certain specific information that is necessary to document for the PA State Police and the F.B.I. for the Uniform Crime Reporting System. Officers need to document the values of all items reported stolen in the various categories of crime. They need to document the age, sex and race of all victims and offenders. This is data that is recorded in the UCR system for the FBI and state police. At the end of the month the report is printed. The ALERT system does a self-audit and if certain information is missing it will print out a report and the information needs to be corrected in order for it to be submitted to the PA State Police.

A common error for police officers is to list the value of stolen merchandise in the

narrative section of the report but forget to click on specific fields and enter the data in those specified areas. The report on a theft will show items that were stolen in the narrative section of the report but the officer may not have documented a value of the stolen merchandise if a specific field.

The report can be completed with the information missing, however at the end of the

month when the report is printed the self-audit system will pick up on the error and the Administrative Assistant has to go back into the original report and correct the error. If the report were submitted without the correction the PSP would not know and they would accept whatever information is forwarded on-line.

While reviewing some incident reports I found four that had some discrepancies and

documented the case numbers. I spoke with Victoria Rubio the Administrative Assistant to the Chief and addressed the discrepancies. She told me that at the end of the month in which they occurred she found the discrepancies and corrected them. She said she makes the corrections in the computer but does not print out another report for the paper file.

The following reports were checked and were corrected:

2014 0184 Theft from a garage (actually a burglary involving $1,100 in tools). It was listed as suspicious circumstances. The victim did not want to report the theft to Nazareth PD. He wanted the State Police to investigate the incident.

2014 0206 No value on five pieces of stolen jewelry. 2014 2496 No property shown on theft of $471 in cash.


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2014 2610 Value not shown on $800 theft.

A total of eight reports were checked against the Alert System for this type of information and the remaining four were correct. I checked in the system for the above four and all of them had been corrected.

The Administrative Assistant appears to be very meticulous regarding accuracy and

it appears that she screens all the reports after being alerted by the software system. The Chief also screens and reviews reports after the patrol officers initially turn them in. He returns them to the officers if there is missing information, however depending on the type of incident there are several areas in a report that an officer may neglect to enter data.

There are other ways of measuring police effectiveness in the community depending

how interactive the police are with the business and residential community. The bank check detail initiated by former Chief Sinclair and the park and walk detail in the commercial district certainly puts the officers in direct contact with the public. Bike patrol is the same way; it helps police and citizens to interact in close proximity to one another.

School visitation programs, such as DARE, Eddie Eagle and Officer Friendly put the

officers in direct contact with the children of the community. Nazareth has two elementary schools within their jurisdiction.

Some citizens are concerned about quality of life issues, such as abandoned cars,

loitering, noise, drugs, etc. Police officers should be aware of that fact and attempt to address those issues when they arise.

Police perform vacation checks at residences for those away on vacation or business

checks on the night or overnight shifts. Using a door check card to alert residents or business owners is an excellent way of letting them know that the police were checking their properties while they were away or home sleeping. Officers found 7 unsecured properties in 2014.

Alarm cards can be left after an officer responds to a False Alarm call, letting the

home owner or business owner know the police checked the premises and found it to be secure. Police department records show that officers responded to 92 false alarm calls in 2014.

Nazareth Police also have a warning tag that can be placed on a doorknob alerting a

citizen of a Municipal ordinance violation such as parked vehicle violations, snow or ice removal, trash disposal, improper watering, noise, animal ordinance, weeds or other miscellaneous ordinance violations. Getting a warning is certainly much better that receiving a citation.

Sometimes vehicle stops or pedestrian stops result in a negative contact with police and

the accused person wants to vent to the supervisor or commanding officer. In Nazareth there is a police complaint form that the citizen must complete and then turn over to the


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Chief. Nazareth has a rather comprehensive policy (2.16.00) on the subject of citizen complaints. They appear to be addressed in a timely fashion.

During the on-site interviews there were a few comments made regarding officers

spending a lot of time in certain areas of the Borough. Two locations that were mentioned were the Fire Department and the athletic fields in the area of the parochial school. If this appears to be a problem it should be brought to the attention of the Chief so the matter can be addressed with the officers.

Obviously the more positive interaction that the police have with the public the more

cooperation they should have when wanting information regarding an incident or crime that is being investigated

nazareth borough police study

Documents

nazareth police department

police relationship

police vehicles

police committee

police officers

management of police

police chief thomas

role of police chief