East Deer officially joins Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department

The East Deer Police have officially become part of the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department.

East Deer is joining Springdale Township and Cheswick, which created the combined police department in July 2019.

East Deer’s addition goes into effect Friday. East Deer Commissioners Chairman Tony Taliani and Commissioner Rick Stoneburner will be the East Deer representatives on the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Commission.

Jaclyn Shaw, solicitor for the regional police department, said the move will help save money for the municipality and add the coverage needed in the community.

“It is definitely a step in the right direction and will be beneficial to community,” Shaw said.

Taliani said the move will be a great help to continue 24/7 coverage in East Deer. He said the current police model for the township — similar to other small municipalities — is no longer working. Taliani said the township has had trouble recruiting officers.

“We are now a bigger police department, which will hopefully alleviate the problem of finding staff because we are a stand-alone small community,” he said.

East Deer applied to join the force in December, and the application was approved by the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Commission during a special meeting Jan. 25.

Springdale Township and Cheswick officials had to give their approval to move the merger forward.

The police department’s commission, which oversees the department, consists of civilian representatives appointed by the municipalities.

Michael Girardi, a commission member, said the merger between Springdale Township and Cheswick took about three months. When deciding on merging with East Deer, Girardi said the board looked at the combined call volume for Cheswick, Springdale Township and East Deer.

Taliani looks forward to contributing as a police commissioner member. He said representatives will have the chance to provide input on operations, budget and the hiring process.

“We are hopeful it will be a positive step for the community,” he said.