State Constables, the best kept secret in PA.

[Sgt Don Reed]

Each township elects a constable and that constable can appoint as many deputies as the President Judge of that county allows. I read someone that some larger townships can have multiple elected constables, but no sure if that's true.

FYI - I'm currently an elected Constable of West Finley Township, Washington County and I have one deputy (not my wife). Yes, we tend to hire deputies that we know because that's how the world works, however my current deputy was someone who I didn't know, he contacted me about being my deputy, and I appointed him a few weeks later.

Remember, you can only be a deputy to the constable in YOUR township. If they won't appoint you as a deputy, you can either move or run against the constable when his term expires, which might be a while since it's a 6 years term.

I think every constable should hire the person best qualified for the job. I would hate to see the police and Sheriff's Office full of buddies that have no people skills or love for Law Enforcement.. But that is just me.

[Sgt Don Reed]

Oh sorry they are full of officers with no people skills.. And no love for LE.

[philadelphia patriot]

Oh sorry they are full of officers with no people skills.. And no love for LE.

Good luck getting any kind of law enforcement job with that attitude.

[t1066]

Ok, I'm a bit confused now. What is it you want to do that you feel you need to be a constable for? Firearms instructors are employed by the PCCD (Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency http://www.pccd.pa.gov/Pages/Default.aspx ) who handle certifying constables. You don't need to be a constable to train the constables. And training others in firearms isn't really a constable duty.

Constable duties are serving paperwork and warrants for the MDJ courts, performing evictions and levies, transporting prisoners, and courtroom security and similar things.

And you are required to keep the peace at the polls on election days.

I think every constable should hire the person best qualified for the job. I would hate to see the police and Sheriff's Office full of buddies that have no people skills or love for Law Enforcement.. But that is just me.

Constables don't 'hire' their deputies. The deputy is paid by the court/county for the work they do according to the fee bill, not the constable that appointed them.

If you have specific questions, I'll try to answer them. But from your replies, I'm really not sure what you think constables do, or how they have to operate. While we are LEOs, we aren't much like municipal police at all, and while we are somewhat similar to deputy sheriffs in some respects, we are fairly different in others.

[1911Operator]

Yes, your county election board is the way to go. If you search the election records, you need to look at the last 6 years, and you'd still see nothing if a constable took office through an appointment.

Thanks scruff, I'll give them a call. One last question, if there is no elected or appointed constable in the Town, can one run in the upcoming election year or do you have to wait for the 6 yr cycle or try getting appointed? Thanks.

[scruff]

Thanks scruff, I'll give them a call. One last question, if there is no elected or appointed constable in the Town, can one run in the upcoming election year or do you have to wait for the 6 yr cycle or try getting appointed? Thanks.

You can petition for an appointment to the vacant office. The dept. of elections can explain the process, which is probably explained a while back in this thread too. If you're interested,, jump on it IMMEDIATELY so you can get in on this year's training cycle.

[Iraqvetwpb]

A lot of people and even some police really don't know or understand what we are and what we are able to do. First I would like to clarify one thing, If this has already been cleared up, I apologize, but I didn't see it.

Constables are not just elected in townships, each town or borough is divided up into wards. Each ward is authorized a Constable. So if you live in a town with 4 wards, your town could have 4 constables. But not every ward has a constable, because many people don't run for it, and out of those who do get elected to constable, many never go for the certification and training.

You can be an elected constable, with all the authority of the office, without going for the training. However without it, you cannot do any work for the courts. I do have two deputies, one is me son, the other is my wife. They only work the election polls when I need them, I do not have a deputy for serving my papers or warrants.

Like the sheriff, we are elected to 6 year terms, like a sheriff, we can have deputies, and we do much of the same work. However, we don't have a salary and unlike the sheriff, we are not confined to the county line.

I am contracted with the County Court House and serve papers for the Domestic Relations Office, I also serve the tax notices, and I serve county warrants where the subject in outside of the county. My contract states that I assist the Sheriffs Department. I have also served arrest warrants for the state police, where the subject was in Philly, so a 4 hour drive down, found the subjects home, had assist from Philly PD then a 4 hr. drive back, and straight to the jail. There have also been times when there has been defendants at the courthouse for hearings and they have had warrants on them from other counties. On those cases, the sheriff had me arrest the defendant and transport him to the other county.

One thing people don't think about with being a constable, is the pay. If your in a rural area like me, you better plan on having an other source of income, and you need to have a love for the job. This isn't the movies and you don't always find your subject on the first trip, so be prepared for some long days and a lot of driving.

Most constables serve for the MDJ's and law firms. I don't serve for any MDJ's but I do work for a few law firms, and of course my county contract. For me, serving warrants or papers for an MDJ could be a conflict of interest for me, as I am also the Humane Police Officer for the county, I have cases in front of all of my MDJ's and I could end up serving my own warrants on humane cases.

I hope this may have answered any other questions you may have, and as t1066 stated, I don't think you know a lot of what a constable is. I would suggest you read up on what and who we are and the history of Constable, then if you really want a position, relocate to an area where there isn't a constable and get yourself appointed.

[Parrisk]

Thanks scruff, I'll give them a call. One last question, if there is no elected or appointed constable in the Town, can one run in the upcoming election year or do you have to wait for the 6 yr cycle or try getting appointed? Thanks.

If your district/ward has a vacant position, go to the Clerk of Elections at County seat.. Get a petition. Get 10 signatures from township residents registered to vote the same party you are registered with. Turn in petition. They do a background check with finger prints and Judge swears you in.
You now must be at the polling place for elections.. but cannot do work for the courts.
Then you attend the ACT training now you can do work for the courts but cannot carry a firearm
later LEO handgun course and you can now carry while doing work for the courts and in every state and city of the USA.

Prepare for calls from people who look you up and want to complain about a loud neighbor or neighbor's dog, or dead beat renters etc...
best advice, a cheap prepaid phone.. not your usual cell phone

Not exact terminology but you all get the point

[Big Kahuna 19547]

Sgt. Don Reed... To qualify as a firearms instructor for the Constables under the Pa. Commission on Crime and Delinquency you would need to hold the Law Enforcement Certification for Firearm Instructors. To my knowledge the only two available are either under the Pa. State Police Academy who runs an LE Firearms Instructor Course and the NRA LE Courses. Both require that you be a member of a LE Agency and assigned as a firearms instructor to attend.

Another firearm instructor position is to instruct and certify retired LE officers for purposes of LEOSA. More information can be found here. https://www.psp.pa.gov/MPOETC/rleia/Pages/default.aspx

[Sgt Don Reed]

I already graduated NRA LEO Training that is how I became Act 235 Instructor..