The Jim Thorpe police department received a letter from the Victims Compensation Assistance Program (VCAP), commending them for their 'hard work and diligence.' Mayor of Jim Thorpe, Michael Sofranko presented this letter and commended the police department on there efficiency and outreach at Thursday night's Borough Council meeting.

Sofranko read, "Your department was one of only 168 (out of 1,200 departments) which consistently returned the reports to our program in 15 days or less, thereby significantly helping to reduce our overall claim processing time, and expediting the process of getting much needed financial assistance to crime victims and their families."The VCAP which is apart of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, helps victims of crimes by aiding them financially. The VCAP does this by investigating the crime by going through police and court records. Jim Thorpe has aided in this effort by being efficient with their police records."That is an outstanding job being done by the administration of the police department," stated Sofranko."The police chief, sergeant, and everyone is really doing there job. The officers are getting there reports done in a timely manner," he said.In the last 14-15 months the police department had over 500 calls. Sofranko praised the department for their efficiency in aiding the community."We had a huge number of calls and the department has responded really well in answering all of them and addressing every situation," said Sofranko.Sofranko also praised the department's community outreach. This week the department hosted a drug awareness program at Memorial Hall. The program was designed to make the public more aware about drugs and the department plans to keep hosting this program."We had a great drug program the other night. We have been doing a lot of outreach in the community," stated Sofranko."I am really happy with how they reached out to the public. The police chief has done an excellent job of preparing our men to do that," he said.