Montco Support For Bill Allowing Radar By Municipal Police

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that statutorily forbids municipal police from using radar technology for speed enforcement on local roadways.

Only state troopers patrolling highways are permitted to use radar, something that local cops have long bemoaned.

“It’s a tool. It’s just like anything else we use in law enforcement,” Upper Moreland Police Chief Andrew Block told Patch in an interview.

Block, who has been working in law enforcement for 35 years, said ask any local police officer in Pennsylvania, and they’ll surely offer up the same sentiment – the state is way behind the times when it comes to this issue.

Back in 1986, Block worked as a patrolman for a New Jersey police department, and they had their cruisers outfitted with ‘moving’ radar, which could catch speeders coming from the opposite direction. Pennsylvania, on the other stand, still doesn’t even allow stationary radar guns to be used unless you’re a state trooper.

While many municipal officers view radar as a tool to more easily get the job done, others are worried that radar technology can be used as a revenue generator for local towns. In fact, this has long been one of the major points of opposition that some legislators, especially those in rural towns, have used to justify voting against previous measures, citing constituent concerns.

Pennsylvania, which claims to have the most number of municipal police departments out of any state in the country, has its share of state legislators who have taken this very stance, hence why proposals allowing local cops to use radar have never made it to the governor’s desk.

“There’s no truth to that rumor,” Block, the Upper Moreland chief, said on the claim that it’s all about generating income for the town.

Not About Money

Block said that when you break down the figures relating to traffic citations, it proves that this cannot be about money. A stop sign violation, for example, is about $142.50, but there are other fees and costs that make up that total, he said. Out of that dollar figure, the municipality really only receives about $12.50.

So to argue that the opposition to local police radar use is somehow about lining the local towns’ pockets just seems silly, he said.

“We’re not in the business of generating revenue,” Block said. “[That is] a byproduct of our enforcement.”

Rather, he said, radar is simply an “effective tool that we can continue to use or add to our speed enforcement.”

From a money standpoint, radar use might actually save taxpayer dollars, Block said, since with radar, one police officer can work the equipment, while under the current system of using timing devices to catch speeders, two officers are generally required for the job.

Long Overdue

John Myrsiades, chief of police in Plymouth Township, agrees with his colleague Block that radar technology approval for use by municipal officers is long overdue.

“It is something that we are certainly in support of and looking forward to. It actually makes our job easier for keeping the streets safe,” Myrsiades said in a phone interview with Patch. “Radar would help us determine if there is a problem, to help us monitor, and just to help us keep people safe, which is our priority.”

Myrsiades echoed Block’s sentiment that this is not about revenue generation, even going as far as to say when he took over as chief in Plymouth Township, he instituted a policy of de-prioritizing traffic citation issuance.

“What we’re looking to do is keep things safer,” Myrsiades said, noting that officers have the ability to utilize individual discretion when deciding whether or not to write speeding tickets.

Oftentimes, issuing warnings gets the message about safety out just as well, he said.

The most recent iteration of the radar legislation was passed by the state Senate in late June, while it now awaits approval in the House.

According to legislative records, the Senate passed the bill by a 49-1 vote. The only senator to vote ‘no’ was Senator Gene Yaw of the 23rd Senatorial District in northcentral PA.

Patch reached out to Yaw’s office to find out why the senator voted against the measure, but a message was never returned.

Longtime Radar Supporter

State Rep. Nancy Guenst, D-152, has supported local cops using radar since she was mayor of Hatboro from 2018 to 2021. She also supported it as a local councilwoman in Hatboro.

“The police departments within our district are very much for this and they’ve been asking for this for a very long time,” Guenst told Patch in an interview. “It gives our police officers a tool to make our communities safer.”

Guenst said because the state House is in recess until late September or early October, the legislation will sit for a bit. She said it may have to go through committee before arriving at the full House, depending on whether or not the Senate’s version of the bill changed at all.

For now, the freshman lawmaker is holding out hope that her fellow House members will get this bill to the governor.

“I just hope that when it comes up for a vote it goes through,” she said.

State Police Support

Pennsylvania troopers, the only cops currently allowed to use radar technology, also support giving local police this important speed catching tool.

“The Pennsylvania State Police is supportive of municipal departments obtaining radar for speed enforcement,” Cpt. Brent Miller told Patch by phone. “It’s a tool utilized to slow down drivers and take those aggressive drivers off the roads to ensure drivers get to where they’re going in a safe manner.”