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The picture is of
Chief Miller and Officer Focht with the Moore Twp PD’s 1955 Chevy
Police Cruiser. They are
parked in Moorestown in the area of now SR0512 /
Moorestown Dr
where the Kiffle Kitchen currently is.
The roadway in the upper left foreground is now SR0946 /
Community Dr.
The farm and homes in the upper left is the farmstead of the current
Bensing Funeral Home.
The house in the upper center is now where the Sullivan Fuel Oil
Company is located.
MOORE TWP PD HISTORY
On July of 1952 the Moore Township Police
Department was formed, after Township residents requested police
protection. The first Police Chief, Harvey Miller, was hired. An
additional officer Emil Focht was hired
two weeks later. The two officers used their own cars to patrol and
were on call 24 hours a day. The officers operated without radios
back then. The Township residents were given telephone numbers of
five locations to call when emergencies arose. The owners of the
designated places posted yellow flags on their porches when they
were called. As the Police patrolled and saw the flags, they would
stop and take the information. There were stops in
Moorestown, Point Phillips,
Klecknersville,
Beersville, and one on Route 248. Eventually Police calls
were handled by
Bethlehem
City
and then by Blue Mountain Control center in Wind Gap. The first
Township Police car purchased was a 1955 Chevy.
As the number of calls increased with the Township
population, Sherwood Roberts was hired in 1973 as Miller’s
assistant. In 1979 Sherwood Roberts became Moore Townships second
Police Chief. During Chief Sherwood Roberts’s time as Police Chief,
the department increased staffing to four full time and three part
time officers. This now provided 24-hour 7
days a week Police coverage.
The Police department hired an administrative secretary and
began using its first computer. February of 1992, Sherwood
Roberts retired as Chief.
In January of 1992, Fred Coberly was
named interim Police Chief and in March was named Police Chief. In
September of 2000, Chief Coberly retired.
In October of 2000, a Citizens Committee was formed to select
the new Police Chief. The Citizens Committee and the PA Association
of Chiefs of Police reviewed the applicants and the new Chief was
selected. On August 2001 Chief Joseph
Keglovits was hired as Police Chief.
During Chief Keglovits appointment as Police Chief, Chief
Keglovits hired three additional full
time officers bringing the Dept to nine full time Officers along
with maintaining approx five part time Officers. With the
Departments growth came the appointment of a Sergeant and Detective
position, increased training of officers in accident investigation,
commercial truck inspections, and DUI detection.
In 2004 the Police Department moved from its small two-room
station to its newly renovated police station; which consists of
individual Officers’ desks, separate offices for ranking Officers, a
secure holding cell for prisoners, a conference room and a
comfortable waiting room for the public.
In 2006 Chief Keglovits retired from the Moore Twp Police
Dept due to injuries.
In January of 2007, the Moore Township Board of Supervisors
promoted Sergeant Gary West to Chief of Police.
The Moore
Township Police Department serves an ever growing and changing
population of approx 10,000 citizens and covers the
Township
of Moore's
approx 38 square miles.
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