LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — The Lebanon County Regional Police Department (LCRPD) and the Western Lebanon County Regional Police Department (WLCRPD) are considering a merger that could create a single department serving four municipalities.
The proposal was introduced during a township meeting, where police leaders and local officials outlined what the change could mean for the communities involved.
Both departments were formed through recent consolidations. WLCRPD was created in 2024 through a merger between Annville Township and Palmyra Borough police departments. LCRPD followed in 2025, combining North Lebanon Township and North Cornwall Township police.
LCRPD Chief Tim Knight said the original mergers were a success, highlighting “a better service, a reduced budget, officer safety, and making the communities safer with quicker response times for emergencies.”
Leaders said the proposed merger is a continuation of those efforts.
Palmyra Mayor Tom Miller couldn’t think of any negative effects from the first merger, and explained, “with a larger group like that, you develop into a police department that has a lot more capabilities.”
If combined, the department would include about 40 officers– 16 from WLCRPD and 24 from LCRPD.
A drive between the two current departments takes about 29 minutes but police leaders said that distance does not reflect how officers would be deployed.
“You’re going to see that we broke things up into districts for officers,” said WLCRPD Chief Andrew Winters. “So you’ll have area officers covering specific areas, and you should have a shorter response time.”
Under the proposal, officers would remain assigned to patrol zones, rather than responding from a central location.
“Where before they had, say, 10 square miles to cover, now they only have five,” Winters said.
Leaders also pointed to improved response during larger incidents.
“I’ll give you an example,” said LCRPD Chief Tim Knight. “Before we regionalized, there was a homicide in West Lebanon Township where one officer had to respond by himself. Since we regionalized, we had a shooting on North Seventh Street and had 10 officers there at one time.”
Officials said another goal of the merger would be to create consistent policies across all municipalities.
Several factors would still need to be addressed if the process moves forward, including pensions and union contracts.
“The only negative I can see is when you have more opinions, sometimes it’s harder to make decisions,” said Justin Thompson, a Township Manager for North Cornwall. “But as long as you have like-minded individuals, you can get anything done.”
Chief Andrew Winters said he would step down if the departments merge, allowing Chief Tim Knight to lead the combined department.
Leaders said they hope to have the merger approved by this summer and implemented by the start of 2027.