Police Academy Hosts Inaugural Roundtable Event | Lackawanna College

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Police Academy Hosts Inaugural Roundtable Event

On Tuesday, March 1, the Lackawanna College Police Academy hosted its inaugural roundtable event at the College’s Hazleton Center. The roundtable invited leaders in local law enforcement to share ideas, concerns and recommendations on top issues facing their departments.

During the event moderator Kevin Mahoney, Assistant Director of Academy Operations for Lackawanna College and roundtable panelists discussed hiring efforts, the difficulty in attracting qualified candidates and creative practices that departments used to recruit and retain law enforcement officers.

“Law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation are in the middle of a recruitment and retention crisis,” said John Chilleri, Lackawanna College Director of Academy Operations. “It’s increasingly difficult to attract qualified applicants to the profession. This event provided a forum to discuss issues and offer creative ideas to help police departments in their recruitment efforts.”

Chilleri provided opening remarks and introduced the panelists and was joined for the roundtable by:

Guy Salerno- Chief of Blakely Police Department
Joseph Coffay- Chief of Wilkes-Barre Police Department
Brian Schoonmaker – Chief of Hazleton Police Department
Lt. Richard Nesbitt – Commander of Recruitment Services, Pennsylvania State Police

John Chilleri Lackawanna College Director of Academy Operations gives opening remarks
John Chilleri, Lackawanna College Director of Academy Operations, provides opening remarks and welcomes panelists to the Police Academy’s inaugural roundtable event at the Hazleton Center.
Kevin Mahoney Assistant Director of Academy Operations
Kevin Mahoney, Assistant Director of Academy Operations and event moderator guides discussions with local law enforcement leaders during the Police Academy’s roundtable event.