HAZLETON -- Officer Keith McAlarney has worked for the Hazleton Police Department for more than a decade. He was born and raised in the city. Building a sense of community with the people who live and work there is important to him.
"You would wish the community would be for your police department, but unfortunately now, times have seemed to change and you're facing a different atmosphere. It's a different environment," he said.
The Hazleton Police Department says one of its biggest challenges is not having enough boots on the ground. The H.P.D. has about 35 men and women in blue right now. That puts them down about five officers from ten years ago. The city just does not have the money for more.
"If we could get that, we could then go to 12-hour shifts, which would then put 33% more manpower on the streets," said Hazleton Police Chief Jerry Speziale.
During a discussion at the Luzerne County Courthouse, Senator Pat Toomey met with Chief Speziale and other police chiefs in the county. He talked about proposed legislation to get police more equipment to fight violent crime and help curb drug abuse, but the bills do not have money to help communities add more officers.
"That's generally been a state and local responsibility. It'd be a very hard thing for a federal government that's already running massive deficits to take on that responsibility," Toomey said.
There are some grants police departments can apply for, but they are often not enough.
