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Resident urges clearer complaint process and questions Narberth police staffing and budget
Summary
During public comment at the March 25 Police Advisory Committee meeting, a resident raised concerns that a submitted report was overlooked, questioned complaint investigations and transparency, and challenged the size and cost of the borough's police budget and staffing model.
A resident identified in the meeting as Mr. Constantine used the Police Advisory Committee's public‑comment period on March 25 to raise multiple concerns about local police operations and complaint handling.
Mr. Constantine said he was asked to provide a report at a prior meeting and believes his substantive complaint was overlooked. “My point that I was making was really overlooked,” he told the committee, and he asked for clarity about how complaints are investigated and documented — specifically, how many people were interviewed, how many videos were reviewed and what notes were taken as part of the investigative process.
He also questioned Narberth’s level of police staffing and costs, citing what he described as a $1.9 million police budget and asking whether the borough is relying too heavily on neighboring Lower Merion resources. Mr. Constantine said residents had previously opposed merging Narberth’s force with Lower Merion, and he asked for transparent cost comparisons and explanations about overtime and interagency arrangements.
The mayor and committee members responded that hiring and budget decisions fall under borough council and the civil service commission. The mayor said members of borough finance and civil‑service staff (Jim Spear in finance and administration was referenced) would be the appropriate contacts for budget questions, and that personnel and confidential fitness‑for‑duty matters would commonly be handled through civil‑service or personnel channels. A committee member suggested passing Mr. Constantine’s concerns to the Public Safety Committee and to borough staff so they can be addressed at the appropriate oversight bodies.
Why it matters: the comments highlight resident concern about transparency in complaint handling and how borough leaders explain budget and staffing decisions. Committee members agreed to raise the issues at the Public Safety Committee and to review posted police policies and the department web page before the next advisory‑committee meeting.
Next steps: the committee asked borough staff to bring the concerns to the Public Safety Committee and to verify whether investigative steps had been documented; they also recommended that advisory‑committee members review the police department’s web resources and policies in advance of the next meeting.
