Our Mission Statement

The mission of the Lower Swatara Police Department is to provide professional and ethical law enforcement services that ensure the preservation of peace and the highest quality of life in our community. 
We will accomplish our mission by:

Respecting the rights of citizens: Treating all people with the  dignity and respect they are entitled regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, or socio-economic status.

Developing community partnerships: Establishing our membership in the community by employing community oriented, problem solving, and proactive policing methods.

Being a learning organization: Quickly adapting our goals and operations to meet our community’s changing needs and demand for services, thereby ensuring the Department’s priorities match the community’s expectations.

Acknowledging our duty: Constantly recognizing our sole purpose for existence is to serve our community and its citizens who are the source of our authority. We will focus on quality service, accept   accountability, and follow-up relentlessly.

Our Core Values

The core values of the Lower Swatara Police Department that will guide our actions in the pursuit of fulfilling our mission are:

Respect the value of human life and protect civil rights. There is no more important priority than the preservation of human life.  Our highest priority will always be the protection of human life and the constitutional rights of all citizens.

Protect the lives, safety, and property of our fellow citizens. We are committed to providing a highly visible presence in all our neighborhoods in order to reduce crime, disorder, traffic violations, fear, and all negative factors that impact the quality of life.

Fight crime through prevention and aggressively pursuing violators. Our primary focus is crime prevention.  However, when crimes do occur, we shall react with aggressive law enforcement methods to apprehend and prosecute the offender. Vigorous law enforcement is an effective deterrent to crime.

Take ownership of and solve neighborhood problems.  Each member of the Department must care about the quality of life in our neighborhoods.  All our personnel are charged with the responsibility to take ownership of those neighborhood problems they are cognizant of and personally take action to their fullest capability to mitigate those problems.

Maintain the highest standard of integrity. Our integrity must never be compromised professionalism requires impeccable conduct and the maintenance of high levels of accountability from all members of the Department.

Recognize that our personnel are our greatest assets.  Our Department’s personnel are the principal means by which we fulfill our mission and accomplish our public service goals. We value our personnel and their contributions. We will treat them all professionally and support their professional development.

Manage our resources in a safe, efficient, and effective manner. The delivery of quality service with a minimum of costs is our core management objective. Our Department will be managed to ensure a maximum return from the expenditure of each tax dollar appropriated. Issues such as employee safety and productivity, fiscal accountability, planning, and resource allocation will be carefully studied and addressed.