The Jenkintown Police Benevolent Association (PBA) is claiming to have cast a unanimous vote of “no confidence” in the leadership ability and performance of Jenkintown Borough Police Chief Thomas Scott.

According to the Association, the vote took place during a September 24 union meeting. Each officer cast a vote, the Association said.

According to a memo emailed to Glenside Local by the PBA, Chief Scott is accused of the following during his tenure:

• Changed the minimum manpower requirement, which now means officers will be patrolling alone, creating an egregious officer safety issue.
• Engaged in a course of action designed to intentionally undermine the morale and work environment of the department therefore jeopardizing the safety of its officers.
• Claimed publicly responsibility for initiating conversation to dismantle the Jenkintown Police Department and initiated steps to do so.
• Disregarded the collective bargaining agreement between the Borough and the PBA.
• Failed to find and schedule part time officers for coverage therefore causing unnecessary overtime and financial burden on the Borough.
• Created a hostile work environment and lack of trust in him among the department.

“Votes of no confidence are never easy and are not taken lightly,” the memo states. “However, the members of the PBA strongly this was the necessary next step. It’s the PBA’s hope that the Borough will finally take notice of the strife caused by Chief Scott’s unnecessary actions, and act accordingly.”

“He kind of does what he wants and then deals with the repercussions,” the Association told Glenside Local in a phone call. “Some officers are getting fed up.”

Regarding Chief Scott’s future with the department, the Association believes this is the first step toward positive change.

“Minimally, council would meet with the officers to discuss the issues. Then they’d try to find a way forward,” the Association said during the phone call. “Falls Township in Bucks County did one not too long ago. Sometimes the chief is asked to resign, sometimes not. It’s a way to draw attention to the issues that we’re having. It’s usually effective.”

Regarding Chief Scott’s alleged initiation of talks and plans to disband the department, the Association said, “We’re confused. He may have something lined up.”

“The hostile work environment has included belittling officers. Some days he’s tough to approach. He’s got people on edge, and it’s not a good work environment to go into every day,” the Association said during the phone call. “That’s the collective feeling. The stress out on the streets is bad enough.”

Their statement is below:

Jenkintown Borough Council and Chief Scott have taken issue with the PBA’s claims.

“They sent us a copy last week. We knew they wanted to do this. I think I speak for all of council when I say that’s their right, but I find it frivolous,” council president Jay Conners said. “Everyone seems to feel that he’s doing a good job and we have nothing but confidence in his abilities.”

According to Conners, Chief Scott was evaluated roughly six months ago by a panel of neighboring police chiefs and received an outstanding review.

Regarding the PBA’s allegation that Chief Scott “Claimed publicly responsibility for initiating conversation to dismantle the Jenkintown Police Department and initiated steps to do so”, Conners said that’s not how the situation played out.

“He didn’t try to dismantle his own department. They looked at alternatives and potential savings. That’s what he was hired to do, that’s what we’re elected to do,” Conners said. “We wanted those perspectives. In no way did he single-handedly try to disband the department.”

Chief Scott’s take on the matter aligns with Conners’: The root of officers’ frustration is a resistance to change.

“It’s a disappointing situation. It’s a struggle to try to correct wrongs in the past, and it’s unfortunate that they PBA believes this is a measure they need to take. I’m not going to stop doing my job and I’m going to continue to be the best professional I’m going to be,” Chief Scott said in a phone call.

“Many issues within the department have been uncovered, and I’ve given my professional evaluation to council regarding those issues. It’s created a concern as to whether the department has been run without misconduct,” Chief Scott said. “When misconduct is allowed for many years, people think it’s fine. This is where the scars of our past come forward. We can’t do anything we want. We’re held to a higher standard because we have to be. I’m not going to back down and do the right thing every time. That’s the goal of my job.”

Chief Scott’s comments continue:

It’s not a good depiction of what occurred. We’ve been honest and open about this from the start. We had discussions about the sustainability of the department. It’s a difficult thing to manage in a small budget where it’s almost taking up almost 52% of the budget. The data that some are trying to pick and choose from aren’t factoring in all of the benefits the borough is obligated to pay for. When you’re looking at this, it’s not a single item. It’s about the entire borough. The discussion was initiated, and I presented options, including a merger or a consolidation. None of the municipalities in our area are willing to do that. There are civil service rules and they have to abide those regarding hiring and firing practices. You can’t just merge entities like that. Contracting was another option, and it’s a viable option when you look at the workload for somewhere like Abington. I was giving them all of the options they needed to consider. It’s a fallacy to say that I’ve been pushing this all along.

It’s a tragedy that this occurred on many parts. I’ve been hired to fix these problems, and it’s been very difficult. It’s based on learned behaviors over time. When someone says no it’s not, that creates the dynamic of opposition. We knew this was going to happen. This direction, however, is a shame. It’s a shame they haven’t taken a different more collaborative approach.

“We based our hiring decisions based on the desire to change, and we knew he had the ability to make those changes,” Conners said. “Some people have become accustomed to what’s been done for decades, but we want to move into 21st century policing.”

Conners noted that the PBA has yet to file a formal complaint.

“If something has been happening, they would have done that. They’ve mentioned that it’s an unsafe work environment. There had been no active shooter training prior to his tenure. He immediately instituted that training. To say that he’s not doing his job is completely false, ” Conners said. “In terms of minimum staffing, there are certain times when there’s really nothing going on. We’re not going to call someone in and pay them overtime in those circumstances. We are putting resources in place to assist those officers.”

Conners also questions the unanimity of the vote.

“We’re going to investigate that claim. We’re confident that the vote was not unanimous,” he said. “They also mention hiring part-timers. We’ve done that before, and the trend is, number one, they’re expensive in part because you have to train them. And then after all of that training, they jump to another department for a full-time job. Police officers are looking for that. Why wouldn’t they be?”

Conners said that an arbitration, which will involve a mediator looking at both sides of the claims, may take place sometime in the spring of 2025.

Council’s official statement can be found below:

Chief Scott took over for the retiring Albert DiValentino in April 2022 after serving as Lieutenant with the Abington Township Police Department. Glenside Local interviewed him in October 2022.

For all the latest news, follow us on Facebook or sign up for Glenside Local’s “Daily Buzz” newsletter here.