Police Chief Makes Transition To Lower Makefield

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — Joseph D. Kelly III always knew Lower Makefield Township well when he served as Yardley Borough's police chief.

He would drive through it from his New Jersey home to get to work every day. He would fill up his police car with gas there. He would also work with the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company and emergency services unit, and collaborate with Lower Makefield Police when work dictated cooperation between the two communities.

So it was no surprise when Kelly left Yardley to become Lower Makefield's police chief.

"It's been a real good move," Kelly told Patch in an exclusive interview recently. "Yardley was the donut hole inside Lower Makefield. There was no way not to go into Lower Makefield. I worked with their department every day. It's also the same fire department, EMS, and school district. It's almost identical."

Kelly replaced Police Chief Kenneth Coluzzi, who served 48 years in law enforcement, in early April. Coluzzi investigated the "Boy In the Box" case in Philadelphia.

While some things are the same as in Yardley, the Lower Makefield Township Police Department is much bigger, Kelly said.

The police department has 41 full-time police officers, making it one of the bigger police departments in Bucks County, similar in size to police departments in Bensalem and Warminster townships. (Yardley employed 14 full-time officers and eight part-time police officers.)

"Lower Makefield is an accredited police department. It subscribes to rigorous standards and is a great place to work. The credit goes to Coluzzi," Kelly said. "We are more responsible and have more resources to meet the community's needs, like our own detectives who handle everything."

Kelly's role has changed too. In Yardley, he's often be found on the streets.

"I'm not doing everything myself," he said. "I did a little bit of everything. I built a legacy there."

Now Kelly will focus on mentoring, hiring, disciplining, budgeting, and more administrative work.

There are some other differences Kelly has to deal with as well: Lower Makefield is 18. 2 square miles compared to Yardley, which is one square mile.

Kelly said there are different locations for crime: Big Box stores with lots of retail thefts, the Pennsbury School District, and a variety of neighbors to coordinate efforts with, such as Upper Makefield Township, Falls Township, and Morrisville, among others.

Kelly also said Lower Makefield Township is also an attractive place for people to live, offering the Wegman's supermarket, Shady Brook Farm, easy access to New Jersey and Philadelphia due to nearby highways, and enough open space being preserved as well, such as Patterson Farm.

"I'm blessed to be here," Kelly said.