Franklin Township officials believe its police coverage has made strides.

Resident Larry Williams asked supervisors on Tuesday how the township is making out with its police coverage.

Board Chairman Fred Kemmerer Jr., said the township is looking to get 24/7 coverage.

“We’re not as close to 24/7 as we’d like,” Kemmerer said. “Is it better; I believe so.”

Kemmerer noted things aren’t as they used to be.

“Policing has changed a lot,” he said. “Things are a lot different now.”

In September 2021, supervisors hired Jared Green as a full-time police officer, which gave the township five full-time officers, including the police chief.

That decision came one month after residents continued to press supervisors for a stronger police presence.

At that time, resident Stephen DeLello voiced concerns about expanding the force following the addition of the new St. Luke’s hospital.

Resident David thor Straten-Mohr supported DeLello’s presented a proposal of his own to the supervisors.

Straten-Mohr then proposed the creation of a regional police department consisting of at least Lehighton Borough, Mahoning Township and Franklin Township.

He stressed the importance of police involvement regarding the new hospitals in particular, stating they need “24/7 local coverage by multiple officers because of possible incidents of violence, drugs, weapons and mental health emergencies at these kinds of facilities.”

Board Vice Chairman Robin Cressley said at that time a similar proposal for a regional police force had been made to Lehighton Borough and Mahoning Township back in 2016, but received little interest.

Cressley said at that time he would like to discuss the idea with Franklin Township’s Chief of Police, Jason Doll, before bringing up the idea to Lehighton Borough and Mahoning Township.

Then board Chairman Jason Frey said the idea was worth discussing, but he was worried about the costs surrounding the idea considering that they would likely need to purchase property, build a new facility and increase officer wages.

Frey also expressed concern that if the police force became unaffordable for one of the involved entities, reliance would fall upon the other townships to pick up the costs.

He also brought up the possibility that there would not be enough officers per shift to be able to cover everything, as hiring officers has become increasingly more difficult.

Straten-Mohr countered that a regional department could actually bring in more applicants to the area.