Municipalities face many difficulties in recruiting, retaining and training police officers.  Many municipalities do not have the resources or require additional incentives to secure accreditation, which professionalizes a force, is a source of pride for communities, protects law enforcement officers and promotes standardization and equal treatment of all people.
 
Many municipalities are also forced to rely on part time officers who must work multiple jobs, receive less training, and who leave after short terms for better paying full-time employment.
 
To address these issues, I will be introducing legislation to create the Police Accreditation and Consolidation Program to provide funding for training, to ensure police officers have access to the resources they need to successfully perform their duties, and to assist with reasonable consolidation plans which will benefit law enforcement and the public. 
 
This legislation charges the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) with oversight of a new program that will make grants to municipal police departments for:
 

• Achieving accreditation standards of the International Association of Chiefs of Police or similar accrediting authority;
• Training and certification of municipal police officers;
• Community outreach programs; and
• To effectuate reasonable consolidation plans.

 
Please join me in providing our local law enforcement officers with the resources they need to ensure their success in protecting our friends, family and neighbors.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 3328: 53-23