This "Letter to the Editor" appeared in the "Carlisle Sentinel" on October 5, 2008 and is in response to House Bill # 2563

Consider expanded sheriff’s department

To the editor:

An alternative to municipalities being charged a $100 per resident fee for Pennsylvania State Police coverage may be no farther than the Maryland border.

Pennsylvania is surrounded by states that use their county sheriffs to patrol areas that do not have their own local police force. The county sheriff departments of Ohio, New Jersey and New York states have full police (arrest) powers and patrol unincorporated areas and provide assistance to local departments.

Maryland sheriffs (except for Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties) are the primary law enforcement agencies for their counties.

West Virginia uses its sheriffs for law enforcement and collecting county taxes. Only in Pennsylvania are the trained, armed, uniformed and patrol vehicle driving deputies relegated to prisoner transport, court security and serving summonses. This is a tremendous waste of existing resources. If this is because “that’s the way it has always been,” it is not a reason; it is an excuse!

One would expect that costs to upgrade sheriffs departments for this expected role would be much less than the $31 million in new revenues, which would be quite a windfall for the Commonwealth.

Small municipal police departments formed due to this legislation would always be in search of operating revenue, possibly in the form of traffic violation fines.

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel with this issue.

Just look beyond Pennsylvania!

Tony Gonzalez Sr., member
South Middleton Township Planning Commission