Bucks County Park Rangers Welcome New Chief

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A new chief is at the helm of the Bucks County Park Rangers.

On Jan. 4, Patrick Durkin was sworn in as the newest leader of the Rangers, a law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the county's public property and parks.

Durkin comes to the new job from the Upper Makefield Police Department where he spent the past 26 years serving the township. His retirement from the force was approved by the board of supervisors in November and took effect at the end of 2023.

Durkin began his law enforcement career during summers in Wildwood, N.J. Eventually, he returned to his roots in Bucks County and briefly served with the New Hope Borough Police Department before being hired by Upper Makefield in Sept. 1997.

Over those two-and-a-half decades, he serve on the Central Bucks Special Response Team, became a certified firearms instructor, was promoted to corporal in 2002, and eventually was elevated to the rank of sergeant in 2006.

Chief Durkin with members of the Bucks County Park Rangers. (Upper Makefield Police Photo)

Sgt. Durkin was an integral part of the department’s accreditation process leading to it to become the 127th accredited agency in Pennsylvania. Additionally, he ensured that the department maintained its compliance with the accreditation standards which led to the department's re-accreditation this year.

"Patrick has left his mark on our agency and you have left a mark on him as he will greatly be missed serving the wonderful citizens of Upper Makefield Township," the department wrote on its Facebook page in December.