Jason Lando has been unanimously approved by the Pittsburgh City Council as the new chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, marking his return to the city after five years as chief in Frederick, Maryland.”For as much work as there is to do, I’m really enjoying every minute of it. I’m so thankful to be back,” Lando said.Lando, who previously served as an officer in Pittsburgh for 21 years, reflected on his career, saying, “Did 21 years in Pittsburgh, and as we said before, when I left, what an amazing and unique experience to be selected to be a police chief somewhere else. Did five years. I wouldn’t trade those for anything. But when the mayor called and asked if I wanted to come back home, for me, that was a no-brainer.”Lando outlined several priorities for the department, including focusing on violent and quality-of-life crimes, officer wellness and professional development, and recruitment and retention of officers. The department currently has 766 officers, and Lando aims to increase this number.”When I left the bureau, we were at 900. And I think just kind of like anecdotally, I would say that we were sitting at a pretty good place then, and I’d like to see us get back to that if we could,” Lando said.He emphasized the importance of making the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police a desirable place for officers to build their careers. “We want to look internally and see what can we do to make the Pittsburgh police the place where people want to come and stay for their entire career,” he said.Addressing past allegations from Maryland, from a now dismissed case, involving alleged harassing texts to a retired officer, Lando said, “I wanted to address it head-on. And I’m just glad that that’s behind me. And I’m looking forward to moving on because there’s a lot of work to do.”Councilperson Anthony Coghill expressed confidence in Lando’s leadership, saying, “I feel confident that Chief Plant is going to be here a long time and it’s going to steady the ship.”Lando acknowledged the challenges ahead in terms of recruitment and retention, aiming to build the bureau back up to around 900 officers.Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH —

Jason Lando has been unanimously approved by the Pittsburgh City Council as the new chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, marking his return to the city after five years as chief in Frederick, Maryland.

“For as much work as there is to do, I’m really enjoying every minute of it. I’m so thankful to be back,” Lando said.

Lando, who previously served as an officer in Pittsburgh for 21 years, reflected on his career, saying, “Did 21 years in Pittsburgh, and as we said before, when I left, what an amazing and unique experience to be selected to be a police chief somewhere else. Did five years. I wouldn’t trade those for anything. But when the mayor called and asked if I wanted to come back home, for me, that was a no-brainer.”

Lando outlined several priorities for the department, including focusing on violent and quality-of-life crimes, officer wellness and professional development, and recruitment and retention of officers. The department currently has 766 officers, and Lando aims to increase this number.

“When I left the bureau, we were at 900. And I think just kind of like anecdotally, I would say that we were sitting at a pretty good place then, and I’d like to see us get back to that if we could,” Lando said.

He emphasized the importance of making the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police a desirable place for officers to build their careers.

“We want to look internally and see what can we do to make the Pittsburgh police the place where people want to come and stay for their entire career,” he said.

Addressing past allegations from Maryland, from a now dismissed case, involving alleged harassing texts to a retired officer, Lando said, “I wanted to address it head-on. And I’m just glad that that’s behind me. And I’m looking forward to moving on because there’s a lot of work to do.”

Councilperson Anthony Coghill expressed confidence in Lando’s leadership, saying, “I feel confident that Chief Plant is going to be here a long time and it’s going to steady the ship.”

Lando acknowledged the challenges ahead in terms of recruitment and retention, aiming to build the bureau back up to around 900 officers.

Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.