Lansdale Police Department Has Submitted Its 2021 Annual Report To Borough Council

LANSDALE, PA — The Lansdale Police Department has submitted its annual report from the year 2021 to borough council, and that report is now available for public viewing.

The report reflects in particular the difficulties relating to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the borough's mayor, Garry Herbert, noting that in 2021 there was a 64 percent increase from the prior year in calls for service relating to mental health needs.

"Our approach to meeting this challenge necessitated that we double-down on our values as a department and further actualize our believe that community-based policing, where we work together with the public and partner organizations to increase effectiveness, is the best path forward to ensuring the safety and well-being of our community, our residents, and our neighbors," Herbert wrote in introductory remarks on the annual report document.

Herbert highlighted the creation of the North Penn Outreach HUB, which is headed by Officer David Pelzer, "who has brought together multiple community organizations to discuss and address mental health, housing insecurity, and other societal challenges in a proactive way.

"These challenges will not resolve themselves," Herbert wrote in his remarks. "As a community we must address and confront the mental health crisis we find ourselves in and the frank reality that policing alone is not a viable solution to these issues."

Herbert also noted that because nearly 40 percent of the department's calls for service today are not related to any threats or criminal acts, Lansdale police have made it a priority to train officers in areas such as "empathy, psychology, and emotional intelligence.

"In 2021, over 2,600 hours were dedicated to continued development with the average officer investing over 17 hours towards this endeavor," Herbert wrote. "As 2022 begins, it is expected that our training curriculum will expand as the department's workload continues to be dominated with non-criminal response needs."

Herbert said the continued focus moving forward for the coming year is on community policing.

"Through our commitment to these values, our residents, and each other it is no wonder that Lansdale Police Department is, in the eyes of many, a standard bearer in the North Penn Area and across the state," Herbert wrote.

An entire copy of the annual report for 2021 can be seen here.