Oct 28, 2016 4 min read

Three Greene County municipalities that currently provide part-time police services are joining forces to form a new regional police force.

Greene County Regional Police Department is being created by Morris Township, which has its own police department, and Perry and Wayne townships, which currently contract police services from Southwest Regional police.

The idea of a regional force grew out of the formation of the Morris Township Police Department earlier this year in January.

“That has always kind of been what we’ve been working toward,” Morris Township Supervisor Bob Keller said.

A regional department will be more “cost effective,” allowing municipalities to afford police protection by sharing the costs, he said. It also will provide more localized police services.

Though state police and other agencies have done a good job in regard to law enforcement in the county, they are often overworked, Keller said. He said he views the regional department as another “tool” in the effort to deter crime and make communities safe.

“I’d like to see it countywide, but it will have to come in small portions,” Keller said.

Keller spoke of another advantage to a regional department: it will be eligible for state grant money, he said, something for which the individual Morris Township department did not qualify.

The regional police department is expected to begin service Jan. 1, said Morris Township police Chief Michael Natale, who will become chief of the regional department.

Supervisors in Perry and Wayne townships adopted the required ordinances earlier this month and the Morris Township supervisors are expected to adopt it at their meeting Nov. 3.

The three municipalities will meet at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in Morris Township Community Center in Nineveh to organize the department, which will be overseen by a joint board consisting of an elected official from each municipality.

The department’s main office will be at Morris Township Community Center, where that township’s department is currently based, and provide coverage for the township and neighboring Morris Township in Washington County. The department also serves the Washington County municipality, and the joint department will continue to serve it on a contract basis, Natale said.

A substation will be established at Perry Township Municipal Building to provide service in Perry and Wayne townships.

The regional police department will initially provide part-time services in the three municipalities, though that could change based on the need, or the “call volume,” and the funding, Natale said. The cost of the department will be shared by the three municipalities based on how many hours of police service each municipality wants and believes it needs, he said.

Initially, Perry and Wayne townships will each have 24 hours of police service a week, the same they receive now from Southwest Regional.

Morris Township, Greene County, will receive 40 hours of service, as it does now, and Morris Township, Washington County, will receive 24 hours of service.

Staffing of the new department has not yet been determined, Natale said. Morris Township now has Natale, who is full-time, and two part-time officers. Those officers will remain with the force and additional officers will be hired.

Natale couldn’t say how many new officers will be hired, though he would like to see a full-time officer based at the Perry Township substation. As part of the formation of the new department, Morris Township Police Department also will be disbanded and its equipment turned over to the regional department.

Natale said he believes a regional department should have the advantage of providing more police services at a better cost to participating municipalities.

“The idea of being able to share the costs with multiple townships makes it cheaper for everybody,” he said. “The lower the cost of service, the more each township can afford. If you can make it cheaper, you can get more of it.”

Keller gave credit for the establishment of the regional force to Natale, whose work the supervisors believe has made a real difference in their community.

“People have taken notice,” he said.

Supervisors in Wayne and Perry townships could not be reached Friday for comment.