My original question was based on a lifetime of observation as a PA resident and current federal LEO. I keep hearing they are trying to push for Sheriffs to have more LE authority, but have heard it for years. I actually think it’s a great idea, if for nothing more then strictly more rural counties. What always struck me as weird though is that they don’t even run the jails, and I’ve heard in random counties they do functional as patrol officers and answer 911 calls(which I can’t confirm first hand; counties like Tioga for example).

Additionally hearing information like what another poster here stated(that his sheriffs dept in pa runs the jail)which would suggest legally they can(patrol, 911 responce and run county jail) yet we keep hearing debates over legal authority, roles, historical and current, their certification vs Act 120(municipal police certification), etc. All of which feeds back into why is this not much more common, as in most other states, or at the very least more widespread?

Potter? 🤔 I hear they call that “God’s County” haha

Do you mind if I ask what county you are? I grew up in montco and live in Cumberland and none around me at any point did.

Did PA Sheriffs ever have what someone would consider “traditional” law enforcement authority? Did they ever run the jails? I keep hearing they’re pushing to be full service agencies like most other states, which in theory makes functional sense, but confused why they aren’t and don’t seem to be making any headway with it.

I apologize, I did this on mobile and I don’t see an option to edit/reformat(atleast not on mobile).

To be honest, Columbia seems(from what I can tell) to have a great balance of schools for the kids, commute time to my potential job, and acceptable housing prices(however, coming from central PA, most of Maryland seems vastly expensive). I think those would be my top 3 interests; Safety, Schools, housing prices. I checked up the 270(the towns stemming off of it going NW away from Rockville) and most things seemed to be atleast 500k. I found multiple very nice options in Columbia in the 400s.

Is there a specific section of Columbia(geographic north, east, etc) you’d recommend buying a home?

I noticed that same time via GPS, and luckily I’d be traveling during off-peak hours so 30-40 sounds just fine 💪