The Swatara Township Police Department serves both Swatara Township and Paxtang Borough in Harrisburg, PA. During a recent statistical data review, it was determined that a significant decrease in crime has occurred in both the Township and the Borough over the past five years. In the spirit of transparency, we wanted to share this information with the communities we serve (you can find all the specific data in the 2021 Annual Report which is attached to this announcement):

• Part One Crimes in Swatara Township: Down 21.8%.
• Part One Crimes in Paxtang Borough: Down 45%.
• Part Two Crimes in Swatara Township: Down 8.1%.
• Part Two Crimes in Paxtang Borough: Down 23.3%.
• Calls for police service in Swatara Township: Down 11.1%.
• Calls for police service in Paxtang Borough: Down 29.4%.

Swatara Township Police Officers regularly address community issues & crimes proactively. Possibly the most visible evidence of proactive police work comes through traffic enforcement. Between 2017 and 2021 Swatara Township Officers were responsible for 12,800 traffic warnings, citations, and/or DUI arrests in Swatara Township. Another 1,089 occurred in Paxtang Borough.

The Police Department is committed to supporting several internal specialized units which allow us to focus on providing professional and robust police services. Those units include:

• K-9 Division with 3 Patrol K-9’s and 1 Therapy K-9
• 8-Officer Patrol Platoons with 1 Officer dedicated to Traffic Safety on each platoon
• 8-Officer Criminal Investigation Division
• Community Services Division
• Internal Affairs Unit
• Forensics Unit with 1 Detective and 1 civilian employee
• Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program Officer
• School Resource Officer
• Electronic Forensics Investigation Detectives
• Bicycle Officers
• Teaching, Educating and Mentoring (TEAM) Officers
• Warrant Officer
• High Enforcement Action Team
• Child Safety Seat installation certified Officers
• Officers with advanced training in Traffic Engineering Studies

The efforts of the Swatara Township Police Department are supported by our coordination and collaboration with several Federal, State, and County agencies:

• United States Marshals Task Force
• United States Homeland Security Task Force
• Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center
• South Central Human Trafficking Task Force
• Capital Region Children Advocacy Center
• Capital Region Forensics Unit
• Dauphin County Accident Reconstruction Team
• Dauphin County Crisis Response Team
• Dauphin County Drug Task Force
• Dauphin County Mobile Field Force
• Dauphin County Gang Task Force
• Dauphin County Interdiction Team
• Dauphin County Child Abduction Recovery Team
• Dauphin County Fire Investigation Team
• Dauphin County Elder Abuse Task Force
• Dauphin County DUI Task Force
• Dauphin County Police / Probation partnership
• Critical Incident Stress Management Team
• Victim / Witness Advocate (Civilian employee)
• Mental Health Co-Responder (Civilian employee)

Thank you for your support of the Swatara Township Police Department! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us by calling the station, submitting a request via the CrimeWatch website, or joining us for open and honest discussions at a monthly “Coffee with a Cop” event.