The Bureau of Support Services has numerous functions within it, but shares personnel with the Patrol Section to fill the various duties, which include:

Beyond patrol, there are many functions that need to be performed in any police department.   Many of these functions, both behind-the-scenes and in more visible ways, are performed by the Bureau of Support Services.  Personnel from other functions are also sometimes shared to perform these functions.   Some, but not all, of the duties of this bureau are described below:

Criminal Investigations

The Lower Allen Township Police Department maintains a Criminal Investigations office which may be staffed by a Criminal Investigations Unit Supervisor and one or more detectives.  Typically, crimes involving more in-depth or time-consuming follow-up are handled by this office.   These officers also perform numerous other duties and assist patrol as needed.

Evidence and Crime Scene

Combining Criminal Investigators, the Support Services Commander, a civilian technician, and other properly trained members of the agency, the bureau provides crime scene processing and evidence preservation and storage services to the department.

Community Service Officers and Crossing Guards

Community Service Officers (CSOs) serve as eyes and ears for the police officers.  They also perform a variety of tasks that include traffic direction, parking enforcement, ordinance enforcement, assists to fire and EMS services, subpoena service, and anything else that may not require a sworn officer to address.

Crossing Guards are provided by the agency for those locations deemed necessary by the school district, based upon need.   The district shares the cost of this program.

Quartermaster

The quartermaster function is jointly performed by a CSO and the Bureau Commander of Support Services.  The function handles the acquisition, issuing, and maintenance (where applicable) of agency owned uniforms and equipment.  This includes managing vehicle maintenance and CSO Scheduling

Records

More information on the records function can be found in their section of this website.

Accreditation

Lower Allen Township Police Department is accredited by two bodies.   CALEA, the Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation, is an international organization and requires compliance with over 400 standards.   PLEAC, the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, is the Commonwealth program and requires compliance with more than 130 standards.   Both programs require an assessment every three years.