SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Looking ahead to 2026, Rep. Rob Bresnahan unveiled $500,000 in federal funding to modernize the Scranton Police Department’s technology and equipment—an investment aimed at enhancing officer safety and strengthening day-to-day operations.

Bresnahan joined Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, as well as law enforcement officials and community partners, to discuss public safety and the importance of local law enforcement during a roundtable.

During the roundtable, PA Attorney General Dave Sunday highlighted how advanced technology can strengthen law enforcement and improve community safety.

“If communities aren’t safe, literally nothing else matters. Public safety isn’t an ideological issue, it’s not a partisan issue, it’s a human issue. Having cameras that you can see clearly, that’s critical for investigations, it helps your clearance rate, it helps create more effective evidence for court. It’s all great for public safety,” said Sunday.

Guy Salerno, Chair of the Lackawanna Chiefs of Police and Blakely Borough Chief, said departments face staffing shortages and need funding to recruit officers. He also stressed the importance of keeping officers in local schools, so students feel comfortable going to law enforcement when issues arise.

“I’m lucky I have a full staff. But I can tell you as the Chief, not every department in this county is at full staff. Several are very understaffed. They’re working two to three shifts, four shifts a week overtime just to cover their minimum staffing requirements. And that’s a problem,” said Salerno.

“You see kids from the Valley View School District, going to the Pennsylvania State Police, going into municipal law enforcement. So, there’s an idea. Another thing I like to talk about is funding for retention and recruitment,” said Salerno.

Alongside funding for technology, Sunday said the upgrades will better officer safety and strengthen cases in the courtroom.

“Another point here is straight up for officer safety. The more cameras you have on incidents, the better it is. And the more transparent it is generally. That’s a whole other win there. I go back to court, from my experience, when you have a case that’s on camera, and you can sit down with defense counsel and say here’s exactly what your client did. Oftentimes, the result is a plea versus a trial,” said Sunday.

Other officials at the roundtable were: Brian Gallagher, Lackawanna County District Attorney; Stephen Polishan, Pennsylvania State Trooper Association President; Michael Kozma, Pennsylvania State Trooper Association; Tom Shuster, Scranton City Council Chair; Andy Kerecman, NEPA Chiefs of Police Association President (Throop Borough Chief); Justin Butler, EB Jermyn FOP Lodge 2 President Justin Butler; and Nate Gerace, Senator McCormick Northeast Regional Director.