LIMERICK PA – Police in Limerick (PA) Township may receive new guidelines to conduct what are known as “warrantless arrests” under a proposed ordinance that would amend the township code, and on which the Board of Supervisors will conduct a public hearing Feb. 21 (2012; Tuesday) at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 646 W. Ridge Pike.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

An advertisement Tuesday (Feb. 7) in The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper announced the hearing date and outlined the proposal. The Mercury is the township’s publication of record for legal notices.

A warrantless arrest is defined by Barron’s Law Dictionary as one made in which a police officer “reasonably believed that the defendant had committed a misdemeanor in his or her presence, or had committed any felony.” It also noted “the Supreme Court has held that a warrantless arrest will be judged by a somewhat higher standard of probable cause than if the same arrest had occurred under the direction of a neutral and detached magistrate.”

Limerick’s proposal, according to the advertisement, would add an article to the portion of code that affects the police department, regarding warrantless arrests for conduct that “constitutes a summary offense” and “imperils the personal security of another person or endangers public or private property.” It would cover:

• disorderly conduct,
• public drunkenness,
• obstructing highways and other public passages, and
• the purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor or malt or brewed beverages.

Members of the public may comment on the proposal during the hearing. Those who need special accommodations to attend should call Manager Daniel Kerr at 610-495-6432 by Feb. 14.

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