May 19, 2013 2 min read

Carmichaels Borough decided last week to hold off on a plan to hire a new police officer because it was discussing a possible agreement to have Cumberland Township police help patrol the borough.

On the surface, that makes good sense. But we think the borough and township should take it one step further – consider a complete police department merger.

Presently, Carmichaels has one officer, Chief Mike Gyurke, while Cumberland has four full-time and seven part-time officers, the latter constituting a larger police force than Waynesburg Borough.

The two police departments now assist each other on incidents, and because the township surrounds the borough, township police often drive through the borough. It was reported at the borough meeting that when Gyurke is not available, incidents in the borough are handled by state police. But when state police are unable to send a trooper, the township responds.

We recognize the state police have a considerable territory to cover in Greene County, so by officially consolidating the Carmichaels and Cumberland forces, the state police would be freed from having to respond to that area. Cumberland Township police are now able to assist Carmichaels police on incidents in the borough, but an agreement would have to be in place to allow them to police the borough legally. Cumberland Township has the resources to assume this added responsibility, but the tax burden on Carmichaels Borough would also have to be taken into consideration.

We would not want to see Cumberland bear all the financial and manpower responsibility, but as was noted at the meeting, the borough and township have had some preliminary discussions on this issue.

We suggest both municipalities begin discussing this in earnest and come up with a solution that not only will provide better police protection for the respective citizenry, but also one that will not be a drain on the budgets of either Cumberland Township or Carmichaels Borough.