PRINTER'S NO. 4646
No. 856 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY MARSICO, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
2 conduct a complement study to determine a new aggregate
3 complement number of Pennsylvania State Police troopers and a
4 feasibility study to support the regionalization of local
5 police departments.
6 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania State Police was created by an act
7 of the legislature which was signed into law by Governor Samuel
8 W. Pennypacker on May 2, 1905, and was the first uniformed
9 police organization of its kind in the United States; and
10 WHEREAS, The size of the Pennsylvania State Police force is
11 limited or capped under the Administrative Code of 1929,
12 provided that troopers assigned to duty with the Pennsylvania
13 Turnpike Commission or as resident State troopers are excluded
14 in determining the current complement number; and
15 WHEREAS, The authorized complement of the Pennsylvania State
16 Police is over 4,500 sworn members, with approximately an
17 additional 1,600 civilians serving a variety of roles throughout
18 the department; and
19 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania State Police operates from 81
1 stations, nine Pennsylvania Turnpike installations and other
2 locations for administrative and investigative functions; and
3 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania State Police provides primary
4 police services for 27% of this Commonwealth's population,
5 accounting for over 60% of the municipalities with no local
6 police force, 85% of the land area and 66% of the highways in
7 this State; and
8 WHEREAS, Current operating conditions, workload demands and
9 mandates continue to stretch existing complement levels under
10 the cap and threaten a consistent level of responsiveness,
11 public protection and law enforcement services where patrol
12 operations have often become more reactive rather than
13 proactive; and
14 WHEREAS, The number of threats and incidents handled annually
15 by the Pennsylvania State Police continue to increase, but the
16 number of State troopers assigned to the crime and patrol
17 functions has actually decreased due to other demands such as
18 terrorism, drug enforcement, firearm background checks and
19 registration of violent sexual offenders; therefore be it
20 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the
21 Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of
22 the current trooper complement level of the Pennsylvania State
23 Police to examine the impact and limitation of the existing cap
24 and a feasibility study regarding the promotion of greater
25 regionalization of existing local police forces to ensure
26 sufficient patrol coverage and adequate staffing levels of the
27 Pennsylvania State Police.
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