Horsham Police Keep Watch Over Air Base

Although the is a virtual ghost town as compared to its previous peak operations, a force will remain in place long after the military is completely gone. 

Horsham Police.

The police took over regular patrols on the Navy side of the sprawling 1,100-acre base on July 1, according to Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker. With most of the military gone, and ambulance are now responsible for emergency calls on the base as well, Walker said.

Security remains in place at the main gate, which is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Walker said.

To date, the only wrinkle has been a minor theft of a pig smoker, Horsham Police Capt. Joseph M. Repkoe said, noting that it was believed to have been taken sometime around the Fourth of July.

Patrolling the base hasn’t caused any problems for police from a manpower standpoint, he said.

“It’s pretty simple now because it’s empty,” Repkoe said following Wednesday’s township council meeting. “Officers go on at random and drive around buildings.” 

The base’s protective exterior fencing remains intact and a new fencing project will be put in place soon to separate the Air National Guard – which will remain in Horsham – from the 892-acre tract that will eventually be redeveloped.

Police now enter the base at the main gate. Repkoe said he did not know how they would get access once the dividing fence is installed.

But, the important thing, he stressed, is that even with its imminent closure, police are keeping tabs on what happens inside the military base.

“It’s right in the middle of town,” Repkoe said. “We do still have eyes on the base.”