NEW CHIEF IN TOWN
Top cop emphasizes training, high standards
SOUDERTON >> A month after starting his new job, Souderton Borough Police Chief Brian Newhall says things are going well.
“I am a working chief, so I go on calls and I respond to calls and I’ve had a chance to interact with a lot of people in the borough. They’ve been very kind, very nice,” he said.
“As businesses are open, I’ve been trying to visit. Covid’s made it a little difficult, as has the snow, but we’re getting there,” Newhall said. “I am
gonna visit every church, I am gonna visit every business, to introduce myself. I already went to the elementary school, met the principal and had a tour.”
Other stops have included a visit to Emmanuel Lutheran Church’s E-Meals program, he said. The church has provided about 75,000 free meals since having been started to help those in need after the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020.
Newall, who was an Upper Moreland police officer for 20 years, then was chief of a department in Chester County for the past two years, started as Souderton’s
chief in January. He replaces James Leary, who retired after 46 years as a police officer, including the past 10 years as Souderton’s chief.
The Souderton department currently does not have body cameras or in-car cameras, but there are plans to add body cameras, Newhall said.
“The very first thing I did was contact the dealer and get us put on the waiting list,” he said.
“A lot of police departments put in bids very early in the year, so we’re on that list. The policy’s already written, we just need the equipment.”
New equipment is also being
purchased to make sure all the department’s police cars have the same equipment, he said.
Newhall said he emphasizes the need for training. He’ll be spending a week this month in an FBI executive leadership class. All the department officers will now be required to take at least one additional class each year along with other training that was already required, he said.
New policies and procedures have already been started, he said.
“Those are to ensure that we’re held to the highest standards possible,” Newhall said.
Although the department is not an accredited agency, the standards being set are the same as those needed for accreditation, he said.
In preparation for planned renovations of the borough police station, work has begun to clean out
the building, he said.
Newhall said he wants to thank the community for removing cars from the streets during the recent snowfalls so the plows could work and emergency vehicles could get through.
Persons that have nonemergency police-related matters often now call the police station, but, “there’s nobody at the desk on weekends, holidays or after 5
p.m., so we’re trying to get the community to call the county dispatch number, which is always manned, and they can get us a message very quickly,” Newhall said.
That number is 215-7234511.
People calling the police station when no one is there can leave a message, but will not get as quick an answer as by calling the
county dispatch center, he said.
“I just want to make sure that we respond to them quickly and appropriately,” he said.
The call to the county dispatch center goes to the same place as 911 calls, but does not tie up 911 lines, he said.
Persons with an emergency should call 911, he said.