The past few weeks have caused many to wonder about the safety of the city of Williamsport. Crime makes headlines, of course, but behind the scenes is a remarkable corps of servants in blue who are changing the culture in the city, and deserve some recognition for the effort. We are talking about the Williamsport Bureau of Police.

Williamsport covers nine square miles, with two colleges on the east end and west end of the town, and home to thirty thousand local residents. As the county seat, it also houses all the county offices located in the downtown area, such as the courthouse, the prison, the executive plaza, etc. There are also dozens and dozens of shops, stores, schools, restaurants, churches, hotels, law offices, and such located throughout the city.

Protecting all these people and establishments in this diverse, multi-ethnic community are forty-eight sworn police officers, over half of which have less than seven years on the job. It is a daunting challenge, especially when public crime threatens the law-abiding citizenry as it has in recent weeks. As noted in this week’s LION article, Chief Hagan came into this situation and set about to change the culture.

It has begun with new community programs. One is called ‘Park and Walk,’ which is just like it sounds. Officers exit their cars and make contact with citizens at businesses and in residential areas — kids or adults. These encounters are designed to increase the partnership with the community and establish a higher level of trust between the police and the public. The police are demonstrating that the police are working for them, and Park and Walks give them the opportunity to show it.

Along with this is the ‘High Visibility Program.’ High Visibilities involve officers parking in high-crime areas and areas known for traffic problems in an effort where mere presence helps to create a safer community. Just as everyone slows down when they see a police car in their rearview window, a police car sitting out on the street makes those who might be plotting some misdeeds to think twice about it.

Another program is called ‘Clean Community.’ Clean Communities involve officers identifying non-criminal quality of life issues such as street repairs, street lights out, stop signs damaged, natural gas leaks, codes violations, etc. These programs are voluntary and offer the officers an opportunity to show their commanders, city officials, and citizens that they do care about their community.

Chief Hagan is also initiating the ‘Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.’ This would involve doing mock assessments of all systems, records, evidence, policies and procedures, and measuring these against the best practices of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. The goal is to complete this program in the next 18 months. Once accredited, this will establish a credible framework for evaluating agency practices and procedures, reduce the bureau’s risk and exposure to lawsuits, decrease some liability insurance expenditures, and other benefits.
There are other initiatives that Chief Hagan has in mind, like bringing back the Canine Corps. He envisions three service dogs, two drug dogs, and one bomb dog, ideally funded through community support. He has at least one Williamsport City Council member who strongly supports the idea, and other citizens have also voiced their encouragement.

And perhaps best of all, through all these efforts, the morale of the force has never been higher. And we are all the better for it.