Jason Lando was sworn in as the new chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police on Friday.
Chief Lando said the number one priority is addressing violent crime. With significant reductions in recent years, the chief says he wants to continue that. He feels that if that can be addressed, all other issues can be addressed too.
For 21 years, Chief Lando served with the Pittsburgh police before going to Frederick, Maryland, to serve as the city’s police chief for the last five years. He comes to the role after a revolving door for the past few years. Chief Larry Scirotto served only about 16 months before leaving to referee college basketball.
“I would not have come back here if I wasn’t in it for the long haul. I plan to be around for a long time,” Chief Lando said.
He reiterated how this is his only job. Chief Lando takes over a police bureau that, for several years, has been trying to grow its ranks. He understands that growing the force is important, but also wants to make sure officers are staying with the Pittsburgh police and not leaving for other departments.
“Once we have someone, how do we keep them? How do we keep them from leaving and going to the suburbs to another department?” Chief Lando said.
Last year, the city saw some of its lowest violent crime rates in years. That stat is not lost on the new chief. He said that the trend must continue to move on to other initiatives.
“I want to keep us on that trend, because if violent crime continues to go down, then we know we are doing the right thing in that department,” Chief Lando said.
To continue growing community relations, Chief Lando wants a chief’s advisory board of about 50 to 60 people to know the concerns of the community, along with the community understanding how police work.
“We want to get a really good, diverse cross-section of the city put together to be part of this chief’s advisory board,” Chief Lando said.
Another initiative the chief wants to bring to the force includes a wellness program for officers.
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