News agencies reported that Lancaster County could potentially lose its state police headquarters due to troop realignments by the Pennsylvania State Police.

According to a state police spokeswoman, Commissioner Frank Noonan is currently considering the changes to be included in the realignment that is being forced due to budget constraints and trooper shortages. The realignments will affect the enforcement agency across the state and will likely begin with Lancaster.

Maria Finn of the Pennsylvania State Police said, “Preliminary estimates show the Troop J realignment would save the agency about 30 positions by eliminating upper chain of command positions and some specialized functions performed by other barracks personnel, while still keeping the same or greater number of troopers on the road.”

Joe Kovel, president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, said that certain specialized units like fire investigations, forensic services, drug investigations and others would shift from Lancaster to Reading and Philadelphia. “Our concern is the direct consequences and effect it will have on residents. The response times for those services is going to take even longer,” Kovel stated.

The realignment is necessary due to the unusually high amount of retirees this year, subtracting almost 1,000 troopers from the less than 4,000 on the road. And while the state’s budget for the state police has not been decreased, funds have had to be rerouted to the training of new recruits to fill those slots, placing added constraints on their already tight budget.

As a Lancaster car accident lawyer, I know how important officers are to ensuring the safety of everyone on the road. I urge everyone to obey the rules of the roads and always wear their seatbelts to ease the tension during this transitional period. If you’ve suffered an injury in a crash, it could be in your interests to speak with a Harrisburg car accident lawyer to discuss your legal rights as they apply to the situation.

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