Palmerton has a holding cell policy in place.

Borough council unanimously agreed last week to adopt the policy.

Borough police Chief Tim Kromer said that the policy is based on the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association policy.

After the meeting, Kromer expounded on the policy.

“It’s designed to ensure security, as well as the safety of our officers and anybody that’s detained,” Kromer said. “It’s in line with current best practices.”

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield took it a step further.

“With the new holding cell ready to go, the Chief wanted to be proactive and ensure there was a policy on correctly using the facility,” Canfield said. “He used the Association as a resource and drafted the policy that was approved by council.”

In October, council on a 6-0 vote agreed to purchase a holding cell in the amount of $17,149 from Josh Reichard’s Home Improvements.

The project is funded in part from the borough’s Rescue Funds, with the rest from the general budget.

Councilman Kris Hoffner previously said the holding cell was a top priority for the police department.

At that time, Kromer talked about a previous incident in which a man in custody, who has since died, became difficult to get under control and spit on one of the borough police officers and caused damage to a police vehicle.