Politics & Government
Lower Frederick Swears in New Police Officer
Joseph M. Patton will work part-time for the department. In other business, the Board of Supervisors passed an alternative energy ordinance.
A man in a suit with a commanding stature walked into the Tuesday night to become the newest member of .
Joseph M. Patton was sworn in at the beginning of the Board of Supervisors meeting in front of township residents and eight family members, including his wife.
Officer Patton and his wife moved from Philadelphia to Lower Frederick Township in May 2010 after Patton served as an officer for 10 years in Sharon Hill Borough, Delaware County. Since moving to the area, Patton has been member of the .
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“There’s a strong sense of community in Lower Frederick. From the township commissioners to even the neighborhoods, it just seems like a very genuine atmosphere and environment and a good place to start a family and raise your kids,” said Patton. “As a police officer, it gives me an opportunity to protect that over the coming years.”
Officer Patton has been hired as a part-time officer to add to the police presence in the community, according to Chief Paul Maxey.
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“We’ve been kind of operating on a shoestring budget for a long time, and to get another officer in to help to kind of dissipate some our call volume and to be out on the street making a presence couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Maxey.
Before hiring Patton, the township was operating with only two full-time officers, with an officer on duty only 80 hours a week. To fill in the gaps, Pennsylvania State Police respond to calls when an officer isn’t on duty, according to Maxey.
“They provide coverage for eight other municipalities that don’t have police at all. And it’s not always easy for them, with their budgetary restraints and restrictions, to be able to provide this kind of coverage across the state as they do,” said Maxey.
Maxey said while he does not foresee any more hiring in 2011, bringing Officer Patton onboard lays the groundwork to building a larger police force.
Lower Frederick Board of Supervisors also passed an Tuesday night, which gives the township the authority to regulate and allow the use of both residential and commercial forms of alternative energy sources.
Wind and solar energy sources are included in this ordinance.