Strength in numbers

Mon Valley towns should join forces on police

Recent violent crime in a Mon Valley community that already has had more than its share of trouble is sparking some forward thinking.

East Pittsburgh has joined four neighboring communities in the exploration of a regional police force.

The partnership would include Braddock, Whitaker, Rankin and North Braddock, which already had requested a state feasibility study. Now, East Pittsburgh wants in.

This is the way to go.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, for many municipalities to cover the cost of a police department that is adequately staffed and properly trained. And the Pennsylvania State Police are hardpressed to muster the manpower to do all that can and should be done everywhere.

Ideal policing involves more than investigating crime after it happens. Ideal policing involves deterring crime and, most often, requires the kind of boots- on- the- ground presence that simply can’t be provided on a consistent basis even by the most well- intentioned pros at the state police.

There is no replacement for community policing, yet community policing must be held to a high standard.

That’s where economies of scale come in. Our cities, townships and boroughs must be willing to break down the arbitrary barriers of municipal boundaries and come together for the public good. Multiple studies conducted over decades show that regional police departments are a benefit to citizens.

In the immediate case, East Pittsburgh disbanded its police force Dec. 1 following the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II on June 19, 2018, by a police officer who was criminally charged then acquitted in March following a jury trial. Despite the acquittal, the incident led onlookers to question the adequacy of police training within the borough. In the end, the police department folded and Pennsylvania State Police have been patrolling since.

Crime — violent crime — continues, though. And borough residents are wise to wonder whether a regional police force could put more officers in the borough more frequently and whether that uptick in presence would stem an uptick in crime.