Survey Provides Insights on Police Chiefs, Departments Serving Rural PA Municipalities

Most certified police departments in Pennsylvania serve small and rural municipalities with populations of 10,000 or fewer residents. Since little is known about these departments and their officers, researcher Dr. Jennifer Gibbs of Penn State Harrisburg surveyed Pennsylvania police chiefs in these departments in 2020, through a grant from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

A total of 349 (329 municipal and 20 regional) Pennsylvania police chiefs serving municipalities of 10,000 or fewer residents participated in the online survey that was open from June through September 2020.

The research...