With innovative social service assistance for its police up and running, Bedminster is also adding a new, grant-funded community relations initiative.
At a March 8 meeting, township supervisors authorized the creation of the new position of Civilian Community Relations Specialist (CCRS). The township has received a $242,000-grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to develop the program.
Supervisors approved Laurie Hepler, long-serving administrative assistant in the department, to fill the new position.
In a formal announcement after the meeting, Police Chief Matt Phelan summarized the program as “seeking to improve victim services; prevent crime; improve policy; and encourage community collaboration,” while “supporting the department, by taking over some of the duties that are not restricted to sworn staff, including (certain aspects of) victims services, crime prevention, communications, and policy improvement.”
“By alleviating the sworn staff of these duties,” Phelan added, “both the officers and the CCRS will utilize this specialized position to allow for an increase in the efficiency and quality of our law enforcement services.”
As an example, he noted that the CCRS “will help with stabilizing victims’ lives after the crime, informing them of their rights, and improving their security and safety,” and also serve as “the point of contact for the victims immediately after the crime has been committed,” including “guiding victims through the criminal justice system, and helping them connect with local resources.”
Crime prevention programs “will focus on the general populations, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations (youth and seniors). The CCRS will collaborate with local churches, community centers, and schools to provide targeted crime prevention programs.”
In addition, “the CCRS will develop and implement a strategic communications plan for the department,” including “social, digital, print, and in-person communication,” and “work with the chief of police to ensure that our policies and procedures are in line with best practices, and moving the department toward achieving accreditation.”
Meanwhile, in a conversation before the March 8 meeting, Phelan noted that an innovative social service assistance program for police, originally deployed in Lower Bucks, was now fully operational in nine police departments in Upper Bucks, including Bedminster, as of March 1.
“It provides for a warm handoff from police officers, so they can get back on the street,” he said. “For example, on March 7, an officer was relieved of a child welfare concern in the township, with the social service professional visiting and following up. One of them is based in Perkasie, and the other works out of Quakertown.”
The program is being implemented as a partnership for each department with the Bucks County Human Services Division in order to add special expertise in social services needs to police response to individuals contacting 911 for emergencies. The two-year agreements call for funding by the county, with any continuation to be covered by the individual townships.
In Bensalem, the special expertise in social service has already been added as employees.
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