Citizens Group Organizes

A few Narberthians have organized a group, 4 Narberth.  The group is in favor of retaining our local police department and rejecting Lower Merion's proposal.  Their website is www.4narberth.com

From the website:

"We are fortunate to live in a very safe community, and it is clear to this group of concerned citizens that our very visible, active and knowledgeable police force has a direct and meaningful impact on this. A local Narberth Police Force is essential if we want to maintain small town values, safety and the character we have come to appreciate in our home town."

Also, a correction from a previous post.  Narblog had incorrectly calculated the 'potential cost savings'.  If Lower Merion delivers on the cost savings it has estimated, each household would save around $300 per year or, about 8% of their local tax burden. 

Since the majority of our police costs are labor and benefits (which are on par with Lower Merion's), it remains to be seen where Lower Merion can cut costs so significantly as to discount our police budget by 50% or more.

Comments

[Anonymous]

So wait ... we can save $300 per year AND not have these guys mistreating our children? It's a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. As I have said elsewhere on this blog, at least with Lower Merion there will be a larger force and some accountability. The Narberth police are out of control with the way they treat kids. All they have to see is anything that's "different" - whether that be a trench coat, black skin, long hair, or whatever - and the kids better watch out. There have also been inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, humiliation, lying, screaming, threats, falsifying police reports, and I could go on. With no evidence, they prosecute some kids; with solid evidence, they let others walk, depending on their whims. This is NOT why I moved to a small town. Disgusting & disgraceful.

Don't know who Tom Davis is, but I did receive his letter at the polls, and shook my head in amazement when I got home. Tom, you just have no idea.

[Mike M.]

This decision should not be about "persecuting" our teenagers. If your little angel is defacing walls, breaking bottles, smoking pot, and cussing loudly in public, he or she SHOULD be confronted by the police - that is what we pay them for. This should be a level-headed decision about fiscal responsibility - how can the boro cut the ridiculously high taxes we currently pay? Can the LMPD provide the same level of service we've grown to expect from the NPD? Overly permissive parents need to stay out of this debate.

[Bobbi G]

Exactly, teenagers who do this stuff like smoking pot, defacing walls, and drinking in Narberth SHOULD ABSOLUTELY be confronted by police, but where are they? Instead of catching these types of teenagers, we have three cops that decide to stop and search innocent teenagers who are simply walking home from school doing nothing wrong. Kids flock to Narberth to do these exact illegal things because they know that they will get away with it, especially when a certain three officers are on duty. It is ridiculous that these cops will harass innocent teenagers for nothing, but the ones who are actually DOING SOMETHING WRONG get away with it

[Anonymous]

Mike, you have no right whom to tell to "Stay out of this debate." The last time I looked, this was still a free country, though one would never know it by the Narberth cops. I had one police officer in another locality tell me in these exact words: "Narberth? You might as well just throw out the Constitution over there."

Mike, do you have teenagers? Do they walk around Narberth? If not, you have no idea what's going on. I could tell you stories that would make your hair curl.

[Kate]

If any of the police are acting inappropriately, you should be filing a complaint, or going to their boss. Disbanding the whole department is certainly not the answer. What makes you think Lower Merion Police are going to be so different than Narberth Police?

[Anonymous]

1) I HAVE indeed gone to their boss: the mayor, who is also the chief of police. As I have said elsewhere on this blog, I have also encouraged other angry parents to do the same but I don't think many have. People are scared to death of the cops. I also intend to go to Mary Jo Pauxtis to express my support for the merger, due to the bad behavior of the Narberth police.

2) I don't think the Lower Merion police will automatically be "so different"; however, I believe the fact that it is a much larger police department will mean more built-in safeguards. When you walk into the Lower Merion Police Department there is a huge sign telling you whom to contact if you have any complaint about the behavior of a LM officer. We have no such thing in Narberth.

3) As I have said elsewhere on this blog, if we were guaranteed that things would change in Narberth, if we could get rid of the bad cops, I would say by all means, let's keep our force. But I doubt either of those things are going to happen, so in that case I say let's merge with Lower Merion where there will be more accountability for bad behavior.

4) Finally, I also intend to go to the LM/Narberth Community Coalition to address this issue of police mistreatment of our kids, and I strongly suggest other concerned parents do the same. It's not that I think my kids & all kids are perfect. They are NOT. But when they do get in trouble, the police should uphold the law in a manner that commands respect.

5) I am not anti-cop! My grandfather was a police commissioner and I remember driving with him when I was a child, watching police officers salute him (this is going back to the '60s!) I also have cousins who are sheriffs and police officers in the state where I grew up. So I know through my family how cops ought to behave and I think it's very sad that because of the behavior of a few, my teens and other teens in Narberth are growing up without that feeling of respect for police. I would like to see that change!

[Anonymous]

The disbanding of the Narberth police department will have no detrimental effect of the Borough in the long run. However, it will save taxpayers money and help Narberth be a "greener" community.

Narberth currently has a SUV, squad car(s), an undercover car, and a motorcycle and six cops to cover a half square mile area. This is equivilant to killing a fly with a shotgun.

It also has office space for the administration of the police department. If the NPD was consolidated under LMPD then only two vehicles would be required, at most, to patrol a 1/2 mile area which would reduce emissions and vehicle maintenance.
Consolidating the office space under one roof would reduce the energy, heating and cooling now required for two offices that could be doing the same thing on a smaller scale.

Finally the LM police are super responsive, extremely proffessional, and easily capable of handling the policing effort in Narberth at far less cost to the taxpayers and the environment.

BTW, the NPD doesn't make Narberth Narberth. The wonderful shops, services and the residents of Narberth make Narberth Narberth.

[Bobbi G]

First of all, check your facts because the motorcycle is gone. I do agree that we dont need the SUV, but that will be gone in June anyway. Also, usually we only run one car at a time, two at most. Finally, the Police department does make Narberth Narberth. People buy into this town because they feel that it is safe specifically becuase we have our own police department.

[David]

For less than $1.00 a day, I can have the Narberth Police Department watch over my family. Why is this even a discussion? You can charge me $2.00 a day, for this. Most communities would love to have this and it is unfortunate that a few seem to take this for granite.

I cannot thank the members of the Narberth Police Department enough. In addition, this is coming from someone who has been ticketed, more than I care to remember.

Thanks for being out there for us.

[King]

In the 12 years my family and I have lived in Narberth, we've had to call the police 3 times. In each case it was because of traffic accidents related to speeders who go unchecked on our streets. In 2 of those 3 incidents it was the Lower Merion Police who ended up responding. Where was the great Narberth Police force then? We were told no one was available.

The notion that there is anything about our small town that requires or even remotely justifies a dedicated police department is absurd.