Lancaster police seek more officers on patrol this year

LANCASTER – Looking at 2022, the Lancaster Police Department is going to focus on getting more police on patrol, which means finding the right candidates.

LPD Chief Adam Pillar said hiring has been a slow and steady process, but with the passage of the income tax levy in 2020, and an attractive contract, he expects there will be good odds of reaching the department’s staffing goal.

Until then, the LPD will maintain and return services cut as funding was limited to the department.

In 2020, Lancaster residents voted to approve an income tax levy increase of 0.45%, raising the city’s income tax from 1.75% to 2.20%. The increase generates around $5 million a year, which will be used by the city’s fire and police departments.

Pillar said the hiring process comes with its own challenges, such as a limited candidate pool and a lengthy time to process them.

“Candidates take the civil service exam, and we get the name of top qualified candidates, and send them invitations to apply. The time it takes to get them on the street serving the community from when they accept the position can depend on multiple factors,” Pillar said.

He explained that candidates that have been certified as police officers, and trained, will be on the street more quickly than those that need to be certified, around two months sooner.

“Plus, candidates have to pass the usual background checks, and a detective will question family and neighbors about their personal history. Candidates also receive a polygraph test, and that test must match with the interview they give during the application process, because we need honest candidates,” Pillar said. “There’s also a physical fitness standard they must meet, and they have to pass a psychological evaluation.”

He explained the job of a law enforcement officer can be stressful, and the candidates have to be able to deal with that kind of stress without freezing or overreacting.

“We want the kind of people that can deal with the day-to-day needs of the job while also keeping their cool during extraordinary circumstances, they need to be alert during a time of crisis,” Pillar said. “We also need candidates that can handle negative pressure without overreacting or acting inappropriately.”

With those factors considered, Pillar said the process of hiring new police officers is thorough but slow. There could be 10 candidates that detectives need to go check out, but there aren’t enough detectives to handle those searches and interviews while also maintaining services for the city.

“So we have to schedule those searches when we can with who we have available. As we continue to hire people, we will start to see that demand ease up, but it will take time to get there,” Pillar said. “Until then, we’re going to continue to offer the citizens the best service we can.”

He added the search for candidates should be easier because the safety levy passed in 2020 and a new contract will make the department more attractive.

As staffing nears the targeted level of 73, Pillar said he hopes the department will be able to return services cut in previous years, due to the coronavirus pandemic and current staffing. The goal is to be able to implement a directed patrol unit.

“The directed patrol unit would have officers available to respond to quality of life problems throughout the city, important calls that may not be lifethreatening, but still need attended to,” Pillar said. “Things like kids playing in the street or cutting through yards, speeders, just recurring neighborhood issues that we can’t rush to handle.”

Barrett Lawlis is a news reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-gazette. Contact him at 740-681-4342 or send him story ideas at Blawlis@gannett.com.