ALLENTOWN, Pa.-- Allentown’s Police force is looking to expand.
Last week, Charles Roca, the city’s chief of police, requested American Rescue Plan Act funds from Allentown’s City Council for five new officers.
- Allentown is looking to grow its police force by, at least, five officers in the next year
- The city's proposed budget for 2023 includes a $3.5 million increase in police spending
- Police Chief Charles Roca is researching options in an effort to bring a gunshot detection system to the city
The move would up the city’s authorized maximum staffing to 233 from the current 228.
The city’s police department isn’t at maximum staffing and is actively recruiting.
“We are replacing officers as they retire and then, also hoping to grow our authorized complement,” Roca explained.
The cost of growth
The city’s proposed budget for next year calls for a nearly $3.5 million dollar increase in police spending.
And, in October, in front of council, Roca detailed a plan to bring $20 million in new technology—and a gunshot detection system—to the city.
Roca hopes these investments support what he called a “paradigm of police excellence.”
“Having that constant paradigm of personnel, equipment and training, there’s many pieces that fit into that,” he said. “And, that old adage of doing more with less does not fit with the direction that we need to put our city in.”
Roca said that in working with members of the community, one thing he hears often is a need for more officers to patrol out in neighborhoods.
“It’s kind of like that, it takes a village to raise a child. It’s kind of what we want to see in public safety here in Allentown, and I truly believe it’s not just the investment of money, but the investment in personnel,” he said.
The funding increases would also help afford new police vehicles. And Roca said he’s currently researching gunshot detection systems in the hopes of bringing one to Allentown.
He believes it could help police response times to shootings and also could encourage the community to stand up against gun violence.
“One of the things with gunshot detection technology is to break down any apathy that can happen in a community, because the worst thing that can happen is a community that says ‘oh, this is something that happens every day. We aren’t reporting it and we don’t care,'” Roca said. “And, also, at the same time, the perception that maybe the police don’t care. And that’s not true. We absolutely want to part and parcel with our community.”
Gunshot detection system concerns
The American Civil Liberties Union has found issues with the program, using ShotSpotter technology, which uses recording equipment in cities to relay the sound of suspected gunfire to operators who then notify local police.
The ACLU argued that mistakes can send officers on high alert into neighborhoods unnecessarily and notes several cities have halted use of the system claiming it wasn’t as effective as advertised.
Last month, Dayton, Ohio canceled its use of ShotSpotter, saying that it was difficult to determine just how helpful the technology was in reducing crime.
Several years ago Allentown considered bringing that technology here, but officials never pulled the trigger.
But Roca said that technology has improved with time and that he isn’t set on using ShotSpotter specifically.
“That old adage of doing more with less does not fit with the direction that we need to put our city in.”Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca
Overall, Roca said he wants to make sure police are using the best technology out there if it can impact the city’s crime rate.
“As our population grows... we need to make sure that gaining of technology piece stays current,” Roca said.
Along with his efforts, Roca said nearby Wilkes-Barre is also looking into the possibility of installing a gunshot detection system as well.
And he’s hoping to secure some of the $450 million that President Joe Biden included in the American Rescue Plan Act set aside for this type of use.
Community impact
For Dawn Godshall, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, the addition of police officers in neighborhoods is a welcome prospect.
“I’m all for funding for new officers,” said Godshall.
She noted that she would expect these officers to get diversity and cultural humility training. This training, Godshall said, would help ensure any new officers will build healthy relationships with the community.
“I think that’s when things go awry is when officers aren't comfortable with the community,” she said. “I think that’s when mistakes happen and big things happen that don’t need to happen.”
Godshall isn’t against the idea of a gunshot detection system, necessarily.
She said these systems can be expensive—with annual monitoring fees on top of the cost and installation of equipment.
“The city would need to make sure it’s something that they can afford going forward,” she said.
She argued that there are several ways to address gun violence—her organization is looking into creating a new youth center, in an effort to get kids engaged in productive things and away from being involved in any sort of gun violence.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have police if they are needed and Allentown has had a kind of rough road recently of gun violence, so that does need to be addressed,” Godshall said.
