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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/19/2024 05:15 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20170&cosponId=23899
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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 12, 2017 09:37 AM
From: Representative Ron Marsico
To: All House members
Subject: Municipal Police Officers
 
Today, more than ever, police agencies need to work efficiently, effectively and cooperatively to maximize their ability to serve and protect our citizens. The Judicial Code furthers this goal by giving “municipal police officers” the authority to act beyond their jurisdictional boundaries where an officer is in hot pursuit of a traffic violator or criminal suspect, when requested to lend assistance to another department, when executing a court order or if an officer witnesses a crime being committed while in another jurisdiction on official business. However, it defines “municipal police officers” to include only police officers employed by a municipality, including a home rule municipality.

On the other hand, the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Act (53 Pa.C.S. § 2161, commonly referred to as Act 120) recognizes the role in public safety played by officers serving with airport authority, college and university and certain other police departments, by requiring them receive the same training and certification as officers serving with a municipality. There is no rational basis to prohibit these trained and certified officers from having the same limited authority to come to the aid of an officer in a nearby jurisdiction or follow a criminal beyond the jurisdictional border. To remedy this, I will introduce legislation to allow those non-municipal police officers who must receive training and be certified under Act 120 the same jurisdictional flexibility enjoyed by “municipal police officers.”

This bill was introduced as House Bill 28 in the 2013-14 session and was approved unanimously by the House. I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation again for the new session. Thank you for your interest and support.


Introduced as HB1738