Collingdale police officer shortage: Residents express safety concerns, demand answers

Fireworks erupted in Delaware County Tuesday night as city council members in Collingdale said they are facing a critical police shortage.

Collingdale Borough is down to just a handful of officers, and residents are wondering what's being done to address it.

What we know:

At one point last year, Collingdale Police Department had 16 officers.

The town of 9,000 residents is now down to just five full-time officers. 

In a string of department challenges tonight, Collingdale officials accepted the resignation of their latest officer, who was on the job for just three days before being criminally charged in a road rage case two years ago. 

Related

Collingdale police officer resigns days after swearing in: official sources

Kevon Darden, 28, a police officer who was just sworn in to the Collingdale Police Department, has resigned Thursday and is facing charges in Upper Providence Township.

It’s the same council that made news last year after trying to hire a police chief under criminal investigation before changing their minds. 

Since then, there’s been an exodus of officers. The police department is so short-staffed that they’ve been using the state police for overnight coverage.

Every night starting from midnight to 8 a.m., the PA State Police has been responding to calls for service in Collingdale.

Borough officials tell FOX 29  they are in the process of hiring new officers but gave no timeline as to when they will be sworn in.

What they're saying:

Residents of Collingdale marched to the public meeting podium, demanding answers about the future of the borough’s shrinking police department.

"We cannot afford another year of this. You are going to run this borough into the ground even more," one resident said.

"We are still, correct me if I’m wrong, without police from midnight to 8," another resident stated. "When are the other officers being sworn in? What are we waiting on? Are we waiting for something serious to happen?"

"It doesn’t look good. Because we are a small town and we are putting the burden on other towns because the state pays for the state patrol, and now it’s other towns paying for that," said Councilman Stephen Zane of Collingdale Borough Council.

 Some residents say the police shortage is unacceptable and have even asked the council president to step down.

"What do we have left to do than to ask for your resignation, to go to the news organizations to get it out in the open what’s going on behind the scenes here," a resident demanded.

The Source: The information in this story is from attending several Collingdale Borough meetings and from its police department. 

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