Michael Combs, Whitehall, was sworn at the Minersville Borough Council's January 2010 reorganization meeting. He replaced Robert F. Bergan, who retired Dec. 18, 2009.
Some of the changes have included enforcing an ordinance passed in 1991 to help keep sidewalks clear of snow, which although passed in 1991, hasn't been enforced, implementing an emergency and notification system for residents and nonresidents via text messages or emails and installing a surveillance system to monitor the community pool that can be viewed from laptops in police cruisers.
Helen Droskinis, Minersville Borough Council president, said there were some issues that needed to be taken care of before Combs was hired, and the chief seems to be working well.
"I think the police chief is doing a fabulous job," she said.
"We have focused on being proactive and that I think is one of the things that we really have pushed," Combs said. "When I say proactive, I mean in a couple of areas."
One of the first areas on which the department has focused its efforts was taking on some of the code work since the borough only has one code enforcement officer. The officer, Fred N. Bainbridge, is usually tied up with inspections and licensing fees, among other tasks, Combs said.
Combs said he found properties in disrepair when he first came on board, and with the police department authorized to take on tasks under the borough code, the department took on some of the work, which it hadn't done previously.
"I said we're going to take some initiative on this and get involved to try and get these property owners to repair their property," Combs said. "Part of it deals with the broken window theory."
In community policing, Combs said the broken window theory is if you have a broken window in a building, some people see it as just a broken window, but that broken window sends a message.
"If we're not repairing that broken window, the whole neighborhood starts to go because other people aren't taking care of their property, so it's that concept that you need to have everyone in the borough involved in keeping and building up the community," Combs said. "Cut your grass and paint your house if it needs a coat of paint. We're not asking people to build a Taj Mahal, but what does a couple gallons of paint cost you and some elbow grease, scraping the old paint off."
He added that while there are some great landlords from out of the area who own property in the borough, there are too many properties owned by absentee landlords who don't take care of their properties. As a result, the police department is taking the initiative to go after those landlords and their properties.
Another aspect the police department is focusing efforts on is drugs, although Combs said the borough does not have a drug problem.
"There's not a community probably in the world, but certainly in the United States, where you can't get drugs. It's an unfortunate reality," Combs said. "When you look at it from how big is the problem, it's not like we have drug dealers standing on the street corners out here. We don't have that kind of thing and we don't want that kind of thing, but we've been taking proactive approach on the drug work because if you don't, if there's no enforcement, they're going to come and take it over."
Minersville police have also updated its automobile fleet, which Combs said was in terrible condition when he arrived and that there were days when the department had only one functioning vehicle.
Now with the borough council's efforts, it has two new vehicles and one that's a few years old. This allows the department to have two vehicles on the road when two officers are working. Before that, there was only one car available.
The last area of focus has been with public relations, which to Combs is crucial in police work.
"You have to have a rapport with the citizens of the community, any community, and they have to have confidence in the police department. They have to trust the police department," Combs said. "Sometimes that's just little things, like if someone calls about a parking problem, which may not be high on the list in the scheme of things, but you have to realize to that person that's calling, this is a problem."
He said one thing he's tried to convey to the officers is to treat every call as if it is an important call. While sometimes there's nothing the department can do, if an officer responds to a call, he can talk to the person. If the officer can give the caller an explanation and the caller a few minutes to vent, it helps build a relationship, Combs said.
"That kind of relationship then goes a long way because when you do need support from your community, you're going to get it," he said. "People will then call you to report bigger problems, but if they don't trust you or have confidence in you, they're not going to report stuff."
Combs and his officers try to handle what's a major problem to the people of Minersville because the communication with people is essential.
With five full-time officers, including Combs, and about 10 part-time officers, the department has gained the support of the community and the borough council as there are also barely any resident complaints.
"I was fortunate that I inherited a good police department and I'm thankful for that," Combs said. "Things are moving well."