New N. Lebanon/N. Cornwall Twp. regional police sworn in to start in 2025. What to know

Officers from North Lebanon Township and North Cornwall Township got sworn-in Dec. 19 as three municipalities will see the colors of a new regional police force patrolling the streets officially starting in 2025.

Officers from both departments were sworn in Thursday afternoon by Court of Common Pleas Judge Donna Long Brightbill to officially become Lebanon County Regional Police Department officers. The 24-officer force will cover North Lebanon, North Cornwall and West Lebanon townships starting Jan. 1.

The new regional department will improve the safety of the residents and the officers that serve those communities, according to future regional Police Chief Tim Knight.

“Currently both departments have one-man shifts working, and this will eliminate that from happening,” the current North Lebanon Township police chief said. “It will also be safer for the residents because we’ll have more people to respond to emergencies when needed.”

The coverage area, including West Lebanon, includes 26.75 square miles and a combined population of 21,385 residents. The proposed consolidated departments would be overseen by a five-member commission: Two supervisors from both North Lebanon and North Cornwall, and one at-large community member.

Officers will work 12-hour shifts, according to Knight. The department will have four platoons of five-man shifts, with each shift having a supervisor.

“It’s going to be a busy time for us to start, because we are going to have four new officers in the department,” he said. “Fortunately, we do have field training officers, and we’ve already prepared for that.”

Before the Jan. 1 start date, officers from both departments will be “jumping in each other’s car” and learning the jurisdictions and communities of North Lebanon, North Cornwall and West Lebanon Townships. Knight said he doesn’t foresee a problem with the merged department handling the new communities they will be sworn to serve.

“Both of our departments have good, experienced officers, and I think they will handle that well,” he said.

Regionalized police

During the swearing-in ceremony Dec. 19, Brightbill commended the new department and said that police regionalization appears to be “the wave of the future.”

“I’m thrilled about this, and I commend you, as well as the supervisors, for frankly being on the cutting edge,” she said to the officers being sworn in.

The Lebanon County Regional Police Department is the second regional police department to be formed in Lebanon County. On May 27, The Annville Township and Palmyra Borough Police Departments officially consolidated into the Western Lebanon County Regional Police Department.

Knight said that he has consulted with Western Lebanon Police Chief Alex Winters during the process of getting the Lebanon County Regional Police Department up and running.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development reports that there are more than 35 regional police Departments representing 125 municipalities in the commonwealth, according to the department’s website, most regional departments were created to strengthen existing police services, including investigation, patrol and specialty services.

“Years ago it was much more difficult to get a police job,” Knight said. “Now there’s a lot more departments hiring, so there’s a lot of officers that can pick and choose where to go, and a lot of the officers want to go to larger departments with favorable scheduling.”

The charter calls for North Cornwall and North Lebanon to split the total cost of the regional force 50-50 if it is formed. Knight said both municipalities got additional officers without increasing expenses because of the merger.

“(Police) budget for North Lebanon Township was 51% the last few years,” Knight said. “This year’s budget came down to 39%, for the police, so I think it’s just going to benefit the taxpayers down the road as well.”

The new department has already applied for three state grants, and has been approved for a $150,000 from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The approved state grant will go mostly towards body worn and new car cameras.

Other municipalities, including Myerstown, have expressed interest in also becoming affiliated with the newly formed regional police department. Knight said that representatives from Myerstown attending a regional police commission meeting recently, though no agreement for coverage has been set before the department rolls out Jan.1.

At the beginning of 2024, a regional department between North Lebanon and North Cornwall Townships was more of a concept. But now both municipalities officials are expecting to see more officers hitting the streets starting in 2025.

A copy of the regional police charter can be found at the North Lebanon Township website at northlebanontwppa.gov.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Regional police officers from N. Lebanon, N. Cornwall get sworn in

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