4 L. Bucks police forces consider a merger

Two of the four small boroughs are without police chiefs. The other two have part-timers.

The time seemed right, some felt, to talk about forming Bucks County's second regional police department.

Those fledgling discussions center on whether the boroughs of Hulmeville, Penndel, Langhorne and Langhorne Manor would be better served by consolidating their police departments.

"I feel that we have an obligation to look at this," Langhorne Mayor Chris Blaydon said yesterday. "If there were ever a window of opportunity to do this, it would be at a time when you don't have to eliminate two police chiefs."

Penndel's longtime police chief, Stephen Burke, resigned May 1. Langhorne's chief, Ken Barnes, resigned in January.

Consolidation is a relatively rare discussion for this part of the state.

In Philadelphia's suburbs, only four consolidated police agencies exist, one in Bucks, one in Montgomery and two in Chester County.

Pennsylvania has more than 1,100 police departments - more than any other state, according to the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Of those, fewer than 40 are regional departments, most formed during the last decade.

A decision by the four boroughs is not imminent. Three of the Lower Bucks boroughs have signed letters of intent to have the DCED conduct a study of a possible police merger.

Hulmeville is not yet on board, although Blaydon was hopeful that an informational meeting Wednesday night with officials of the affected boroughs may have provided answers for some of Hulmeville's lingering questions.

"We're holding off for now, until we get more information," said Thomas Wheeler, president of the Hulmeville Borough Council, who did not attend the meeting. He said the borough would soon be briefed by the three council members who did attend.

If the Lower Bucks merger came to fruition, it would affect police coverage for fewer than 7,000 residents.

Blaydon said that combining resources, especially in small municipalities, could save money and help some officers specialize in areas such as accident investigations. It would also help the boroughs provide 24-hour patrols, where now state police must fill in the gaps at night.

"If you have four police chiefs, four stations, and four sets of cars, that's not as efficient as one," Blaydon said. "There should be an economy of size, that's obvious."

If Hulmeville decides to cooperate, the DCED would ask each community to fill out detailed surveys and then work with a peer consultant - often a working police chief - to study how a possible merger might work. The results of the study are not binding; any of the towns could withdraw at any time.

Currently in Bucks County, the Pennridge Regional Police Department serves East Rockhill and West Rockhill Townships. In Montgomery County, the Upper Perkiomen Regional Police Department covers East Greenville and Pennsburg Boroughs.

Chester County has two regional departments. The Westtown/East Goshen Regional Police Department is the largest, with 32 full-time officers and 10 part-time officers serving a population of more than 30,000 in Westtown, East Goshen and Thornbury Townships. The other is the Brandywine Regional Police Department, serving East Brandywine and Wallace Townships.