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Chief warns of staffing shortfall; Supervisors authorize COPS grant application
Summary
Lehigh Township police chief told supervisors rising call volumes and declining traffic enforcement reflect understaffing; the board unanimously authorized the chief to apply for an upcoming COPS hiring grant and discussed phased hiring of two officers.
Lehigh Township Chief of Police Scott Fogel told supervisors April 8 that the department’s workload has grown substantially over the last decade while staffing has not kept pace, and he asked the Board to authorize a COPS hiring grant application.
Chief Fogel presented five-year trend charts showing a rise in total service calls—from roughly 9,700 in 2013 to about 16,300 currently—and said traffic enforcement and proactive patrol have fallen as the department’s available staffing declined. "We are currently at 12 officers less one that is currently out injured," Fogel said, and he described burnout and training-capacity limits for new hires.
Fogel recommended incremental hiring—initially adding two officers to equalize squads—and urged the Board to apply for the federal COPS hiring grant when it opens in the coming months. "It’s something that must be done incrementally," he said, noting the grant covers a three-year period and can help municipalities phase in hires.
Supervisors agreed to authorize the chief to submit the grant application by motion. Supervisor Janet Sheats moved to authorize Chief Fogel to apply for the COPS hiring grant; Cindy Miller seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously to authorize the application.
Fogel said the department does not currently keep a formal ongoing candidate list but retains resumes and can advertise when recruitment is necessary. Board members and residents asked for additional context on staffing, including whether part-time positions were viable; the chief said recruiting for part-time slots has been difficult and full-time opportunities are more attractive to new officers.
The Board instructed the chief to proceed with the grant application; any hiring would be considered in future budgets and staged to allow training and mentoring of newer officers.
