Pocono News Section

Less Hours for Hughesville Police?

Less Hours for Hughesville Police? - Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 5:42PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Thursday, Jan 21, 2010 @ 05:42pm EST
Hughesville, Lycoming County-

The mayor of a central Pennsylvania borough wants to cut costs by reducing police coverage. Some say it's a risky move.

Six officers patrol the streets of Hughesville. But only two, including Chief Richard Shearer, are full-time.

That led to nearly $25,000 worth of overtime pay last year, a number the borough's new mayor says must shrink.

Lana Johnson, of Hughesville, said, "Bad idea. They should not cut police hours, because of the way the world's going nowadays. Everything gets worse. Everything seems to be getting worse and we just need the police."

Mayor Walter Reed has proposed scaling back police operations, at least temporarily. The reduction would leave only one officer on duty in Hughesville at any given time.

Chief Shearer says it would hamper coverage and eliminate their ability to conduct special operations. Those operations include things like drug raids and inspections on large trucks passing through the borough.

But not everyone sees scaling back as a problem.

Grace’s Café owner Jason Hoffman noted, "I don't really see it as a bad idea I guess. There's really not that much crime around here for the time being right now. But I guess if things would pick up, that something would happen, then it might be a bad idea to have done it."

Sources close to the police department say the mayor's directive has been written into the department's policies and procedures.

And while some argue costs should be cut in other ways, many believe only time will tell if the new plan is a success.

Johnson continued, "These gentlemen really do protect Hughesville and my hat is off to them, yes they do."

Hoffman added, "I guess you won't really know until things take place and see how things go once it takes effect."

We're told the police department will rely on mutual aid from nearby municipalities when backup is needed.