Braddock moves to join police with 3 communities

On split vote, council moves to form commission to combine force with its Mon Valley neighbors

The Braddock Borough Council voted Tuesday evening to move forward with the regionalization of its police force with three other Mon Valley communities.

The 4- 3 vote means that the council will now form a commission to begin the regionalization process, joining East Pittsburgh and Rankin. The North Braddock Council is expected to vote on the measure this week.

Braddock Councilwoman Tina Doose said that although the vote Tuesday night was split 3- 3 between council members, Mayor Chardaé Jones broke the tie in favor of moving forward with the measure.

“This is a groundbreaking decision for Braddock. I believe that we have the opportunity to create a genesis for communities that lack resources and are viewed as desolate.” Ms. Doose said.

“My focus in recent years has been to develop and grow our aging housing stock and this is definitely a calling card to new investors and developers. The success of our Regional Police Department will bring change to the Mon Valley and precipitate regionalization throughout Pennsylvania,” she said.

The four boroughs currently have 31 part- time officers, some of whom make overtime, and just two full- time officers between them. Braddock has 8.5 part- time officers; North Braddock has 13 part- time and one full- time officer; and Rankin has 9.5 part- time and one full- time officers, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

East Pittsburgh disbanded its police department in December 2018.

Proponents of regionalization, such as Ms. Doose, argue that the cash- strapped municipalities would be able to pool their resources to hire a full- time force, rather than depending mostly on part- timers.

The regionalization process is not universally supported however. Some Braddock council members, unconvinced of the plan’s viability, argued and clashed with each other and members of the public over the measure during a special council meeting in late September.