NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (RVO) by John Gerow – Responding to residents’ complaints about “over policing”, police “nitpicking”, and harassment of bar patrons, New Bethlehem’s Chief of Police and Borough Council President met with representatives of the local news media Monday morning, January 21. The purpose of the meeting was to give the Borough a chance to explain and clarify policing policy under the reorganized department. Redbank Valley.org was joined by Josh Walzak of the Leader-Vindicator newspaper and Aly Delp of exploreClarion.com.

Mrs. Mateer explained that when the Police & Safety Committee of the Borough Council began looking for a new Chief, the committee met with the Councils of the other municipalities to assess the needs, and expectations of all of the municipalities being covered by the New Bethlehem Police Department. All of the governing bodies for the contracted municipalities said that they wanted increased police presence, increased drug enforcement, increased ordinance enforcement, and increased traffic and safety enforcement. Mrs. Mateer said that resident concerns prompted the councils to pursue a different style of policing with the new chief.

Chief Robert Malnofsky explained to the reporters that his mandate from the Borough Council was clear; to enforce laws and ordinances, and to be a part of the revitalization of New Bethlehem and the contracting municipalities. Community leaders and a majority of area residents want to see our small, rural towns become great places to live again. People don’t want to live in dirty, run-down towns, with no jobs, and high crime rates. Safety, sound property values, and low crime rates, the hallmarks of good places to live, require community focused, pro-active policing.

Responding to a direct question, as to whether or not the police are “nitpicking” and “over policing”, Chief Malnofsky said that the Borough Council wants laws to be enforced. When asked if he had ordered his officers to “stake out” the bars and social clubs, the Chief forcefully denied it, saying, “ I have not given any order to any officer to pay extra attention to any local business.” Mrs. Mateer said that the New Bethlehem Borough Council fully supports the Chief.

Chief Malnofsky told the reporters that he began the reorganization by setting up two patrol areas. The first was to be New Bethlehem and would include Hawthorn, South Bethlehem, and the Redbank Townships. The other patrol area was to be East Brady, Rimersburg, and Sligo. His plan was to have at least 2 officers on duty during each shift, one patrolling each of the patrol areas. The hiring of additional full-time officers has given this arrangement a beginning. Chief also said that he and Sargent Clark work opposite shifts so that there is always a supervisor on duty. Longer-term plans actually do include establishing a police substation in Rimersburg or East Brady, but that is not planned for anytime soon.

Simply having two officers on duty during each shift gives the police greater visibility in the communities. Fewer communities being policed also means that the police are more visible. It is logical to assume that with more officers on duty, patrolling less area, there is going to be more police interaction with residents. Being in the community, interacting with residents are both necessary components of building strong, safe communities.

The complaints against the new Chief and officers surfaced several weeks ago on Facebook when East Brady residents started sharing complaints about the New Bethlehem Police. The chief attended the East Brady Borough Council meeting in January to address these complaints. On the same evening, a group of New Bethlehem residents addressed the New Bethlehem Borough Council with a new round of complaints. Chief Malnofsky said that the New Bethlehem complaints caught him by surprise, as he had met with the Moose, VFW, Diddy’s and Desperado’s to discuss how he sees the new police department functioning and that there had been no complaints voiced in these meetings.

In response to the suggestion that the new police policies are hurting the bars and social clubs, Chief Malnofsky said, ”It is the postings on Facebook that are hurting the bars. They don’t realize that they are shooting themselves in the foot everytime they put a post on Facebook telling people not to come to town because the police are out.” In the Chief’s opinion, these warnings on social media are actually hurting the bars and clubs more than increased police visibility.

Chief Malnofsky said that he is frustrated by these complaints. None of the complaints that have been brought forward have any specifics. No one has named a particular officer as being involved. No one has given the Chief, nor Council, any specific days, dates, or times when these “harassments” have occurred. The Chief asked, “How can I fix bad policing if I don’t know who is doing it?” Without specific officer names, times, and dates; there is nothing that the Chief or Borough Council can do to improve the situation. Unsubstantiated rumors serve no good end.

Chief Malnofsky provided reporters with written descriptive accounts of 11 alleged incidents of what can best be described as very unprofessional conduct by New Bethlehem Police officers, that East Brady residents had brought to the January 15 meeting. The actions described are disturbing, but none of the 11 reports gives the resident’s name, the officer’s name, or the date and time of the incident. They are stories, rumors, gossip, without any factual context that the Chief and the Council can use to improve policing conditions in the area.

According to the chief, there is a formal process for people to file complaints against local police. To file a complaint, the resident comes to the police station and provides a written statement. If the complaint is against an officer, the Chief will investigate. If the complaint is against the Chief, the county District Attorney does the investigation. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, there can be consequences ranging from a verbal reprimand to potential dismissal. But, until the formal complaint is filed – complaints are just noise that is stirring up the community. Chief Malnofsky told the reporters that he invites residents to come in if they have real, legitimate complaints.

POLICE K9 UNIT (DOG):
Mrs. Mateer also wants the community to know that the initial cost of acquiring and training the police dog is going to privately funded and will not come out of the Borough’s budget. She said that converting the truck to a K9 unit will also be privately funded and will be more cost effective than purchasing a special vehicle. The main functions of the police dog will be for drug interdiction and search and rescue.

MEET & GREET W/ NB POLICE DPT:
Mrs. Mateer also said that the Borough Council and the Chief are planning a “meet and greet” community conversation very soon. The session is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Feb 2 from 1-3pm at the Redbank Valley Community Center. Please watch RedbankValley.org for further developments.

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MEETINGS:
New Bethlehem Borough meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm at the Alltel/Windstream Building on Lafayette Street. Folks may contact the Borough’s office to be placed on the meeting agenda.

MISSION:
New Bethlehem Borough Council fosters business, community, and personal growth within the borough while maintaining the small town appeal and family friendly environment that makes New Bethlehem such a great place to work, live and raise a family.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES:
To learn more about Council’s Goals & Objectives, please visit: NewBethlehemBoro.com/about and click the ‘Mission’ tab.

CONTACT:
To contact any member of Council or the Borough’s office, please visit: NewBethlehemBoro.com/about and click the ‘Council’ tab. You may also ‘like/follow’ New Bethlehem Borough on Facebook for the latest news/announcements: Facebook.com/NewBethlehem

For more info, please visit New Bethlehem Borough’s website: NewBethlehemBoro.com