By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Oxford Borough Council voted 5-2 on Aug. 17 to disband its police department and contract with the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department.
- Officials cited cost concerns as the reason for the closure.
- The 11-officer department responded to approximately 4,400 calls for service in 2023, the most recent year with available data.
- Community members protested the move in the weeks leading up to the vote, and the council meeting was disrupted by protesters calling for councilmembers to resign.
- Regional police coverage is set to begin Jan. 1, when the Oxford Borough Police Department will be dissolved.
OXFORD BOROUGH, Pa. — The Oxford Borough Police Department will be disbanded after the borough council voted to contract with a regional police agency, citing budgetary concerns, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report.
The council voted 5-2 on Aug. 17 to join the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department and approved a memorandum of understanding for the services. Officials cited the cost of maintaining the borough’s own department as the reason for the change.
Community members protested the proposed closure in the weeks and months leading up to the vote, according to the Inquirer, and the council meeting itself was disrupted by protesters demanding that councilmembers resign.
The 11-officer department responded to approximately 4,400 calls for service in 2023, the most recent year for which data was available, according to an analysis by Keystone Municipal Solutions cited in the Inquirer’s reporting.
The Oxford Borough Police Department will be formally dissolved when regional police coverage begins Jan. 1. Oxford Borough had a population of 5,733 at the 2020 census.