The Abington Township Police Department recently congratulated Melissa Gargan on her appointment as the newest Coordinator of the Township’s Human Resources Department.
Gargan has been with the Police Department since 2008, initially serving as a part-time Administrative Assistant in the Community Policing Division, and later filling a newly created full-time position as Director of Youth Programs and Red-Light Camera Program Manager.
She was promoted to the Manager of Administrative Services for the Police Department in 2020.
Gargan is married to veteran Officer Sean Gargan, and together they have two children in the Abington School District.
From Chief Molloy’s Facebook post:
On behalf of all the men and women of the Abington Township Police Department, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to Melissa Gargan for the dedication and professionalism that she displayed over the past fifteen years with our Department. Melissa began her career as a part-time Administrative Assistant in our Community Policing Division and was responsible for developing new policies and programs for our Youth Aid Panels, our Police Athletic League, Community Service projects, and our new-formed Red-Light Camera Program.
As a result of her remarkable work ethic and record of achievements, Melissa was appointed to a newly created full-time position, Director of Youth Programs and Red-Light Camera Program Manager. In addition to these responsibilities, Melissa took the lead in transforming our website and our social media platforms, making them the model for other police departments in our region. Melissa also served as a consultant to other Montgomery County Police departments, assisting them in the development of their own social media platforms. Melissa’s initiatives back then laid the foundation for the outstanding level of community engagement and transparency that exist today, where we routinely reach thousands of community members each week.
Throughout her time in Community Policing, Melissa found new ways to improve operational efficiencies through the application of new technologies and other program management practices designed to improve our youth mentorship programs, engage with our citizens, provide professional development opportunities for our staff and volunteers, and track critical data related to our YAP Program/Juvenile Recidivism rates.
In 2018, Melissa was transferred from our Community Policing Division to Administration, where she served as my Administrative Assistant. Melissa served in this role during what turned out to be one of the most challenging periods for our Department and our profession. This transition also took place during a time when our Department and Administrative Staff experienced an unprecedented turnover. Despite this, Melissa met these challenges, raised the bar and improved the administrative functions for civil service, police recruitment/testing processes, officer wellness, accreditation support, press release, and overall communications within the Department and across the Township Administrative staff.
Melissa’s role expanded even further in 2020, when she was promoted to the Manager of Administrative Services for the Department. In this role, as in others, Melissa continued to take on even more responsibilities and found new ways to contribute to the Department’s success. She did this by focusing on the health and welfare programs designed to support our personnel and their families.
Throughout all her years in Administration, Melissa was always a trusted member of our Command Staff who brought a unique perspective, not only as an administrative professional, but as a “police wife” married to veteran officer, former SRO, and lifelong Township resident, Sean Gargan. Melissa also provided the perspective of a lifelong Abington Township resident and a parent of two daughters who attended our schools. Melissa always understood firsthand the importance of our “Community First” approach to policing, and she did so much in her time with us to advance this principle. She truly demonstrated servant leadership by consistently putting the needs of our Department, the community and her fellow Department members before her own.
On behalf of all the men and women of the Abington Township Police Department, I want to congratulate Melissa on her new appointment and wish her only the best in her future career endeavors. While she is moving on to become the HR Coordinator and a member of the Township’s Administration staff, she will remain committed to supporting the police department, their families, and our retirees by coordinating the Township’s HR benefits and programs. I know that this was a difficult decision for Melissa, but I also know that it was the right one for her and her family. She will be missed.
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