The Upper Allen Township Police Department originated on July 1, 1966 by a resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Upper Allen Township.
Chief Clyde R. King was hired at a rate of $2.62 an hour. Chief King had to supply his own uniform, firearm and patrol vehicle. In October of 1966, two part-time Police Officers were hired at a rate of $1.75 per hour.
According to the US Census, the population of the Township was 5,299 residents. The municipal government of the township did not have a building from which to operate during this period. During the first six months of operation, phone calls that needed to be made by Chief King were many times made from the Pennsylvania Turnpike booth at Exit 17, now known as Exit 236.
In December 1966, the Township purchased Walters Roadside Market at 52 Gettysburg Pike, which became the Township and Police headquarters.
In September of 1967 the first police vehicle was purchased, a 1967 Ford Custom 500 for $2,981.70 In November 1968 a second patrol vehicle was purchased, a 1969 Chevrolet for $2,724.34.
In January of 1968, Chief King received a twenty-six cent raise, which made his hourly rate, $2.88 per hour.
In September of 1969, Carl K. Hutchison, formerly of Lemoyne Borough Police was hired as the second full-time Police Officer at a rate of $2.62 and made a Sergeant.
In the spring of 1971, Dennis L. McCauslin and Larry L. Shumaker were hired as the third and fourth full-time Police Officers for the Department.
The proposed budget for the Upper Allen Police Department in 1971 was $43,750.
In June of 1972 Police Officer, Philip (Ted) Heffelfinger was hired as the fifth Police Officer.
The salaries of the five full-time Police Officers in July of 1972 were:
Chief King – $8,736
Sgt. Hutchison – $8,008
Officer’s McCauslin and Shumaker – $7,156
Officer Heffelfinger – $6,800
In October of 1972, Officer McCauslin was the first Upper Allen Police Officer to graduate from a police academy, the PSP Municipal Academy.
Since 1966, there have been a total of fifty-one full time Police Officers hired including the current staff.
Throughout the history of the Department, there have been three Chief’s of Police:
Clyde R. King – July 1966 through August 1987
Richard E. Hammon – August 1987 through January 2003
James W. Adams – January 2003 to the present
Between 1972 and 1980, the Department would become a leader for other departments in Cumberland County. Several of these undertakings include:
- Participation in “Kops-Kids” day at the former Williams Grove Amusement Park. Chief King annually coordinated this program where children from Central Pennsylvania interacted with uniformed Police Officers at the park
- The only Department to maintain its own firearms range; still true today.
- Operate its own breath-testing equipment.
- Hired a full-time female Police Officer in June of 1977.
- Negotiated a collective bargaining agreement for Police Officers in 1976.
- First in Cumberland County in 1979 to utilize Excessive Speed Preventer or E.S.P to enforce speed limits in the Township.
- The last year that part-time Police Officers were employed by the Department was in 1980.
By the 1980’s, Upper Allen Township was one of the fastest growing municipalities in the mid-state. The agriculture landscape was becoming suburbia to Harrisburg, York, and Washington DC with the developments of Meadowview, Canterbury, and Peachtree to name a few. The Department needed to adapt itself to meet the needs of an expanding community.
In January 1982, the eight man Department would move to 100 Gettysburg Pike, to what was considered a very modern facility.
Between 1980 and 1990, the Department would continue being a leader in providing law enforcement in Cumberland County:
- Modernized our Records Management System by joining a computerized data base known as METRO; the rest of Cumberland County followed
- Mobile Video Recorders (MVR) in police vehicles, the first one was like a mounted Hollywood movie camera in the vehicle
- Repeater radios replaced telescopic antennas on portables
- Cell phones – not the kind you put in your pocket; the kind you hang off the passenger seat
- Assigning a Police Officer full-time to the Tri-County (Cumberland – York – Perry) County Drug Task Force
The Department would continue to grow with the additional hiring of Police Officers each year from 1986 through 1990. From 2003 to 2016, the Department would continue to increase staffing to our current twenty-two sworn Police Officers.
The Department has always conducted business as a community oriented agency long before it became a cliché. The Department provided:
- NRA sanctioned Hunter Safety Classes to hundreds of youth in the area.
- Prior to the concepts of DARE, we utilized our own program known as “Officer Friendly”, which received national recognition
- Conducted countless “bicycle rodeos” promoting safe biking
- Conducted children’s puppet shows at schools, churches and daycare centers which promoted safety activities for our community
Community oriented policing continues with community programs such as:
- S.M.A.R.T.S (Students Making Appropriate Responses to Tough Situations) S.M.A.R.T.S. provides the students of the Mechanicsburg Area with a program to assist them in making responsible decisions when facing tough situations involving life skills, safety and health related challenges such as drugs/alcohol, personal safety, peer pressure and bullying
- Participation in youth safe driving events
- Reading program with students at Hilltop Academy.
- Mentoring of at risk students at Mechanicsburg Middle School
- Bike patrols
- Halloween Candy give-a-way by uniformed Police Officers
- Citizen Police Academy
- Lethal business assessment training
- Senior citizen fraud awareness programs
- Career day presentations regarding law enforcement opportunities at Mechanicsburg Area High School
In April of 2010, the Department completed its on-site assessment by the assessors of the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (PLEAC). The unanimous recommendation of certified assessors was for the Upper Allen Police Department to receive full accreditation status. In April 2013 and again in April 2016 the Upper Allen Township Police Department has been re-accredited by PLEAC. Upper Allen Police Department became the 68th police department out of over 1200 police departments in Pennsylvania to be recognized by PLEAC as an accredited agency.
By September 2011, the Department moved into its expanded building, which will meet the future needs of the agency. The new Department facilities includes:
- Emergency Operations Center and training room
- State of the art evidence facilities including preparation, processing and storage of evidence
- Armory
- Interview rooms for victims and suspects
The police service is no different from any other business in terms of what it takes to be successful. The principles, which guide the Upper Allen Township Police Department in delivery of our services, include:
- Solve problems rather than mask them
- Work to develop meaningful relationships within the community
- Work with members of our community to empower them to help solve their own problems
- Utilize technology to assist us whenever possible
- Assist victims of criminal offenses and actively pursue those criminals
The Department is proud of it transparency, information regarding the Department activities is released to the public in many formats:
- Up to date website: www.upperallenpolice.com
- Available email alerts
- RSS Feed
The Upper Allen Police Department is a full-service law enforcement agency, which has experts in the field of computer forensic analysis, drug enforcement, accident investigation, public relations and criminal investigations.
The Department is an established law enforcement leader in central Pennsylvania due in part to the Departments association with other Criminal Justice service providers. In many cases, Department members are part of executive boards, which deliver policies, training and direction to the law enforcement community. The ability to network with other law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local level allows the Department to continually provide professional services at the least minimal cost. The Upper Allen Township Police Department is an active member of the following:
- Cumberland County Chief of Police Association.
- Cumberland County Criminal Justice Advisory Board
- Harrisburg Area Community College – Public Safety Advisory Board
- Central Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association
- PA Eastern Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates
- Cumberland County Rape Crisis Anonymous Reporting Committee
- Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission
- Municipal Police Officer’s Education and Training Commission
- Cumberland County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation
- Pennsylvania Chief’s of Police Association’s Executive Board
- International Association of Chief’s of Police
On June 15, 2016, the Upper Allen Township Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution No. 955 recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Upper Allen Township Police Department. Read the resolution here. Resolution No. 955 Police Department 50th Anniversary – July 2016
As the Upper Allen Police Department moves into its next fifty years of service, you can rest assured that the three hundred and thirty five years of combined police experience will strive to meet our motto: Nunquam Non Paratus
