Uniontown, Pennsylvania, is another recent and vivid picture of the dilemma facing local police agencies nationwide: a department that now struggles to staff even basic shifts because officers are leaving for better pay, benefits, and stability. When the chief himself departs for a better‑paying university job and the state police must cover the overnight hours inside the city, the community feels what happens when God’s intended “culture protectors” are stretched past their limits.
This is exactly the kind of local agency that, in God’s design, is supposed to stand closest to the community, restrain evil, and protect the vulnerable. When such departments erode, neighborhoods are left with authority that is either distant or delayed, undermining both safety and public confidence. How can we fix what we are seeing across the nation? Here are a few ideas:
Rebuild trust by increasing our engagement
In places like Uniontown, the officers are the community: we shop at the same stores, worship in the same churches, and send our kids to the same schools as the people we serve. That proximity is the strength of local law enforcement and aligns with Scripture’s pattern of authority rooted in real relationships.
If we want to leverage this truth, we’ll need to stabilize long‑term patrol assignments, keeping officers assigned to the same neighborhoods and allowing residents to get to know us personally. This will make it harder for distorted national narratives to define our relationship to our community.
We can also use town‑hall style forums to increase our transparency. As staffing and coverage changes, leaders can openly explain what is happening, invite questions, and review critical incidents. We want our communities to know our personal level of commitment and realize that this level of engagement cannot continue in the current climate as it is related to hiring and retention. As local law enforcement agencies, we need to be accountable and present, not secretive and distant.
If agencies like Uniontown can keep officers embedded and visible, rather than constantly rotating or leaving, the badge will be seen less as an external imposition and more as a familiar, protective presence—exactly the kind of local guardianship envisioned in a biblical view of civil authority.
Make proactive policing possible again
Uniontown’s staffing collapse naturally drives the department into a reactive posture: there simply are not enough officers to do much more than answer calls. But proactive, self‑initiated work—traffic stops, directed patrols, community contacts—is what often keeps violence from erupting in the first place.
To restore this ability in a small city, we must address pay and benefit packages so officers aren’t simply being trained by small agencies so they can later be “poached” by larger neighboring departments. Without competitive compensation, any talk of proactive policing is little more than wishful thinking.
In addition, cities like Uniontown need city leaders and citizens to speak up in support of active patrol divisions who ethically serve in a proactive manner. Leaders and community members must say it out loud: we want officers to intervene before things spiral, and we will stand by them when they act within law and policy.
In biblical terms, authorities are meant to “bear the sword” against evildoers, not merely write reports after the damage is done. That requires enough officers, sufficient support, and clear expectations that they are guardians, not just record‑keepers.
Care for the people behind the badges
Uniontown’s story is not just about policy; it is about real people who are tired, underpaid, and pulled in competing directions. The chief left for a job that offered more stability and better compensation, and rank‑and‑file officers are doing the same. Behind each departure is a family counting the cost of late nights, danger, and community criticism.
If we want this to change, members of our communities must adopt a God‑honoring response. Churches in and around cities like Uniontown can adopt officers and their families, offering prayer, counseling connections, and tangible support when shifts and crises wear them down.
Just as importantly, departments and ministries can partner to provide retreats and post‑critical‑incident care (like the kind of marriage resiliency retreat offered by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) to help officers and spouses process trauma and stay rooted in their calling rather than burning out or walking away.
If local agencies like Uniontown are to survive, their officers must be treated not as disposable resources but as image‑bearers carrying a heavy, God‑assigned responsibility. When a town shores up its officers’ souls, families, and practical needs, it strengthens the very ground floor of justice and order in the community.
Uniontown is not just a sad headline; it is a warning about what happens when local authority is allowed to wither. Yet it is also an invitation – for churches, citizens, and leaders – to recover a biblical vision of local cops as vital culture protectors and to act now so that small departments can remain present, proactive, and spiritually healthy in the places that need them most.
To dive deeper, here is my interview with Frank Turek about the importance of Law Enforcement:
Also, if you’re a police officer and you haven’t yet trusted the Savior who is the “Caller” behind your “calling,” there is no better time than now. The guidance and protection of God is available for anyone who seeks Him.
Michael Williams
January 13, 2026 at 9:23 am
Amen brother. Outside of my years as a State Criminal Investigator and State Police Special Agent (Detective), I also spent many years as what some might call a “small town cop” seeking to make a big time difference. Bad leadership (God help us) and town “leadership” that refused to embrace the truth (for a make-believe “Mayberry” mess) and did not understand our ethos made what could have been great a nightmare instead.