As municipal officials from the Back Mountain to Mountain Top get set to implement or explore the possibility of regionalized police forces, they can follow the roadmap of the Wyoming Area Regional Police, the first consolidated department in Luzerne County.
The department, which launched in January 2023 by merging five police forces, now boasts 19 full-time officers and recently played a key role in assisting the United States Secret Service during Wednesday’s visit by Vice President JD Vance to a West Pittston machine shop.
“We are still obviously growing. I fully support and highly recommend regional police. Going from where I came from to where I am now, it’s night and day to be honest with you,” said police Chief Michael Turner. “This should have happened 20 years ago.”
Turner, who has been a police officer for 24 years, said he’s encouraged to see four other regional police forces now being explored in Luzerne County, including the merger of departments in Edwardsville and Larksville that is set to launch in January.
The chief said he’d be happy to guide the others through the lengthy process and offer advice.
“We were the first in Luzerne County to regionalize and I hope it continues. This is the way of the future. At the end of the day, we all do the same job,” Turner said.
The front of the Wyoming Area Regional Police headquarters in Wyoming on Friday, July 18, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wyoming Area Regional Police merged the police forces of Exeter, Exeter Twp., West Pittston, West Wyoming and Wyoming. A 10-member commission, two officials from each municipality, oversees the department.
The consolidation led to better coverage for residents with officers working in specialized areas that wasn’t possible in each of the five small departments, Turner said.
Turner, who was police chief in West Pittston before the regionalization, noted that some of the small departments were so short staffed that the state police were primary responders many times.
“I’ll be honest with you. I was the chief in West Pittston. When I was approached about a regional police department, I was 1,000% for it. I was tired. I was exhausted with the amount of overtime I was doing,” Turner said.
Turner said a career milestone and a highlight of the young regional department was the detail assisting the Secret Service during Vance’s visit.
“They didn’t do a single thing without including the Wyoming Area Regional Police every step of the way. I had 10 officers on site. Every officer had a task assigned by myself through the U.S. Secret Service. It was a great experience,” Turner said. “It truly was an honor to be part of that operation and work side by side with the United States Secret Service.”
U.S. Congressman Matt Cartwright, Wyoming Area Regional Police Chief Michael Turner, and Chairman of the Wyoming Area Regional Police Commission Joseph Pizano cut police tape to signify the beginning of the Wyoming Area Regional Police Department. (FILE)
Wyoming Area Regional Police is headquartered at the former state police barracks on Wyoming Avenue in Wyoming, having acquired it from the state through grants. The building gives officers private offices, a locker room, shower facilities and a large garage, the chief said.
All of the municipalities agreed to contribute what their police budget was prior to regionalization and those contributions have yet to be increased three years later, officials said.
The department patrols 37 square miles that is divided into three zones and includes a substation in Exeter Twp.
Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce believes the regional force is “going well” during a time when police departments are fighting for the same recruits.
“I think the residents are definitely getting better service,” Sanguedolce said. “I think it’s much more efficient than before. They have more supervisors. They have a more central location for their headquarters.”
Sanguedolce said he’s attending the next meeting of the West Side Regional Police Commission, which will oversee the combined department for Edwardsville and Larksville.
Elsewhere in the county, another group of communities on the West Side asked the state to launch a feasibility study for a possible regional department for Forty Fort, Kingston, Luzerne, Pringle and Swoyersville.
The municipalities of Dallas Borough, Dallas Twp., Jackson Twp., Kingston Twp. and Lehman Twp. are asking the state to conduct a feasibility study regarding a possible Back Mountain Regional Police Department. (Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
Officials in Dallas, Dallas Twp., Jackson Twp., Kingston Twp., and Lehman Twp. also recently asked the state Department of Community and Economic Development to conduct a study regarding a regional department.
Leaders in the Mountain Top communities and Fairview Twp. and Wright Twp. said they are in preliminary negotiations to regionalize, but were looking to see if neighboring municipalities wanted to join the effort before moving forward.
West Pittston Mayor Angelo Alfano, a member of the police commission, said the department has been a success and the communities are committed to the regional force.
“It’s great to see everyone realized this is something we needed to do. Everyone put aside their egos. We have a great commission of 10 people who work very well together. We’ve been very fortunate,” Alfano said. “We have to keep this going. For these towns to go backward and establish their own departments would be too much of an undertaking.”
Exeter Councilman Joseph Pizano, chairman of the commission, agreed that leaders from the five different towns are working well together in guiding the department. State and federal officials have also been instrumental with helping secure grants, he said.
“The only way for this to be successful is for everybody to get along and work hand in hand,” Pizano said. “Now that we’ve been doing it for a couple years, things are settling in. The officers are happy because we have a professional department. We provide them with top-notch everything. We are getting new vehicles. We are getting body cameras. We’re getting dash cameras and license plate readers in the cars. Things are going great.”