Boroughs in the Panther Valley are exploring whether working together can help overcome a shortage of police officers, but say a regional police force is still unlikely.

“All we’re interested in is, how can we work together when there are shortages to help each other,” said Lansford Police Chief Jack Soberick.

Lansford Council held a public safety committee this week with Summit Hill Council members and the police chiefs from each borough. They discussed how the shortage of officers has affected their ability to respond to incidents out of town.

The four police departments in the Panther Valley work together regularly on calls. However, recently, some of the departments in the valley have been struggling to provide 24/7 police coverage due to a shortage of manpower. Officers are now being called to neighboring towns who don’t have an officer on duty.

Earlier this year, Lansford Police Chief Jack Soberick informed Summit Hill and Nesquehoning that if they do not have an officer on duty, his department will no longer assist with routine or non life-threatening problems in their boroughs.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Soberick said the directive was meant to make sure that Lansford officers were available for calls in the borough.

“This was to keep my guys in line, not to cause the slightest frustration between the towns,” Soberick said.

Summit Hill Police Chief Todd Woodward said he is ready to back up Lansford whenever they need it. But he said it is also hard for his department to take the lead on incidents in neighboring boroughs who don’t have an officer on duty. He said if there are arrests involved, it takes his officers out of the borough for an extended time.

“The issue is time,” Woodward said.

Lansford has open officer positions, but they have not received any applicants.

Soberick said that larger departments pay significantly more, and allow officers to take on specialized roles which are more attractive than the responsibilities of a small town police officer.

“We’re in a hard space in law enforcement now,” Soberick said.

Due to the ongoing manpower issues, Lansford recently reached out to the other towns in the valley to see if they would be open to working with the state agency which helps to create regional police departments.

Nesquehoning has said it is willing to schedule an initial meeting with Lansford and a representative from the agency, the Department of Community and Economic Development.

A previous regionalization effort between the towns in the valley, about a decade ago wasn’t successful.

Woodward said that regionalization would be ‘a long way away.’

Lansford Councilman Bruce Markovich said working with DCED could be beneficial even if they don’t pursue regionalization.

The state could help them come up with a new shared services agreement. Lansford and Summit Hill’s current agreement dates to 1974.

Summit Hill Councilman William O’Gurek Jr. said he would recommend taking the first step of contacting DCED. Councilwoman Karen Ruzicka said she supports looking into the idea as well.

“Working together, that’s all we can do,” Ruzicka said.