Filling an opening in the police department is not as easy as it used to be, according to Oxford Police Chief Sam Iacono. And it is not just an issue in Oxford—it is a nationwide problem.

"We are looking to replace two part-time openings and one full-time and we are not getting any applicants. We used to get at least 30 or more applicants, but it is getting much harder to find replacements," Iacono said.

According to the police chief, there are 12 openings for police officers in Chester County. In the state of Pennsylvania that number rises to 50. They have had the part-time position publicized for months, and are putting out the full-time advertisement this week. The test for full-time applicants will be given on Sept. 9.

The problem, as the chief sees it, is that Oxford is having to compete with the higher salaries of other departments. The 24/7 police coverage in Oxford does come with a hefty price tag, which is discussed every year by borough officials at budget time.

That coverage is a selling point when moving to the borough. Both businesses and residents are happy that police protection is just minutes away, but competing with other departments has posed a problem.

Iacono explained, "The full-time positions are pulling away from the part-time positions. An officer is going to take a full-time over a part-time if he can get it. In some instances, some officers are retiring earlier than normal because they just want to get out of police work.”

It is estimated that officers are involved or receiving a call each hour. The activity may include foot patrols, assisting motorists, and responding to dispatched calls.

"If people wonder what our officers are doing, they are constantly busy," Iacono said.

Add to that the fact that the police officers are constantly in need for additional training.

The Oxford Police Department will soon be getting a LiveScan and there will be training needed for that. The chief is looking forward to this addition.

"The LiveScan is a central booking station. We will now do fingerprints at our station and they will be sent out to the FBI and State Police electronically. We will have an instant answer at the time we are done finger-printing them," he explained.

The Oxford Police Department got the machine through a grant they received. The cost for the machine was $34,000. They will have to pay for maintenance and a service fee, but the first year will be covered. This will save officers from having to travel out of town to deliver fingerprints to the Avondale State Police, where the officer would also transfer the person getting finger-printed, and then return the person to Oxford.

"Typically, we would lose an officer for two hours to do this. It is also a safety issue having to transfer the people getting finger-printed,” he explained.

Another time saver that is coming up for all police departments is the CAD system. Instead of calling the Oxford Police Department, all calls will go through 911 and the CAD system will dispatch it. That call is automatically put into the system and the county generates a record.

"I just got a call for a Right-To-Know request wanting a list of calls I make to the officers. I don't make calls to officers anymore. They all go through the County Dispatch," Iacono said.

These kinds of improvements for all police departments are a win-win for everyone.

"Policing is better because of more checks and balances. There is a cost in that, but there are also many savings in that," Iacono explained.

Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen reminded everyone to follow up on the Community Survey that is available until July 31. It is part of the borough’s grant-funded participation in DCED’s Strategic Management Plan. Everyone can learn more and find language about this on the borough’s website at https://www.oxfordboro.org/home/pages/five-year-strategic-management-plan.

As part of this project, the borough is requesting feedback from Oxford residents and community stakeholders. The survey is specifically about the delivery of municipal services, and how the borough pays for those services. The input from the community will be extremely valuable in assisting the borough as they move forward in this process. 

It is important that the process of creating the Five-Year Plan is inclusive, transparent and strongly informed by the feedback of Oxford residents, and property and business owners. The survey is available in English and Spanish online (https://tinyurl.com/2ta3yrmt ) or in hard copy at Borough Hall.

In other news, the borough was awarded a $22,000 Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns Program (G3) award from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to support final design and engineering of the traffic-calming rain garden bump-outs on Mt. Vernon Street.  The project is part of the Borough’s Pollutant Reduction Plan as required by the State's MS4 program.  The project concept was developed through a prior G3 grant received in 2021. The Mt. Vernon project is meant to be a “dig once” project and includes improvements to the roadway, pedestrian safety and the in-ground water main. The borough received a $150,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s (DCED) Multimodal Transportation Project to support the road and pedestrian safety improvements. There are several other grant applications pending.

A request for proposal was released to engineers. Garcia-Allen explained that, at the minimum, the borough is looking for a water engineering firm, and there have been 18 responses received so far.

Borough council gave its approval for the employment contract for the new Zoning and Codes Officer, effective July 24, 2023.

Council also adopted a resolution to authorize submitting a Multimodal Transportation Fund Program Grant Application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to support road, stormwater and pedestrian safety improvements to Niblock Alley and the Broad Street Bridge.

Council also approved the DVRPC EXPO Program Project Budget and Design Plan, as well as the authorization to submit an Act 247 review ordinance amending the Code of the Borough of Oxford, Chapter 27, Zoning, Part 2, Definitions.

Council member Robert Ketcham congratulated council president Kathryn Cloyd for becoming a Certified Borough Official.

The next Oxford Borough Council meeting will be held on Aug. 7.