Larger role for constables considered

Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held will convene a meeting on Wednesday to discuss how elected constables should be used.

Held, a former constable in his first term in office as sheriff, wants constables to play a larger role in the local law enforcement community.

“We use constables. They're needed to get the work done, but they need to be closely managed,” Held said.

Constables will meet with Held and state Rep. Mike Reese, R-Mt. Pleasant, at Ligonier Town Hall to discuss the issue.

The use of constables has been an issue in Westmoreland County for the past year.

Constables previously were used almost exclusively by district justices to serve arrest warrants.

That system changed last summer when the warrant service work was turned over to the sheriff's office by Judge John Blahovec during the administration of former Sheriff Charles Moore Jr., who is now the district judge in Scottdale.

County officials predicted the switch would save money. After a year, it is estimated the move will produce about $240,000 in new revenue.

In 2010, the last full year the constables served district justice warrants, the county paid more than $128,000 for the work.

This year, Held said his department needed help in serving 12,400 outstanding warrants and has again enlisted constables to help.

In Allegheny County this month, court administrators issued a 59-page guide in an attempt to standardize how constables serve warrants and transport prisoners to district courts.

“I think the constable system works, but someone really has to manage it,” Held said, suggesting the sheriff's office would be a logical central control for the constables' operations.

Held and Reese said they want to discuss whether there are better uses for the constables and how they should be managed.

“I want to hear them out, and then I might have an opportunity to offer legislation. But I'm certainly not there yet,” Reese said. “Obviously, you want good, trained constables because they are a good bang for the buck for taxpayers.”

Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.