Bankers' hours at police office drawing ire

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, February, 2007 | by Amy Worden

Bankers' hours at the police barracks?

Indeed. Under a pilot program implemented Dec. 18 with no public notice, the Skippack State Police Barracks in central Montgomery County has replaced desk clerks with automated phones during nights and weekends.

After 4 p.m., or anytime on weekends, you'll find the blue venetian blinds drawn over the lobby's bulletproof glass. Your only link to help is a lobby phone that rings at a dispatch center in Norristown, 11 miles away.

But legislators say no one warned them this change was coming. So does the county district attorney, who says he learned of it from an Inquirer reporter. And domestic-violence prevention groups say cutting barracks hours puts battered spouses at greater risk.

State Sen. John C. Rafferty,...