One of Lansdale’s Finest has been recognized for his work throughout the 2021 work year.
John Albany, who joined the police department full-time in 2017, was recently named Lansdale’s Police Officer of the Year.
“I was truly surprised. I didn't see it coming,” Albany said. “It's a position that's voted on by my coworkers and peers, so it was an honor and I was pleased to have been voted on.”
Lansdale Borough Police Chief Michael Trail recalled when he hired Albany full time in 2017 — one of his first official acts as police chief.
“I've watched him mature and grow into a very capable police officer,” Trail said.
The department’s Officer of the Year program, which started in 2014, allows for officers to vote for who they believe should be selected for the title based on the criteria of individual work performance, performance as a team member, and positive attitude. Voting occurs in December of each year.
“All the officers are dedicated to making Lansdale a better place to live, work and play, but officer Albany has really shown that he's willing to go the extra mile and go to that next plateau to help make Lansdale even better,” said Garry Herbert, mayor of Lansdale Borough.
The names of each year’s winners are put on a board located in the department’s lobby, and the officer receives a recognition on their uniform that indicates that they were Officer of the Year. Past recipients include: Officer Joel Greco (2014), Officer Pat McKernan (2015), Officer Joseph Gary (2016), Officer James Owens (2017), Officer Richard Kruppenbach (2018), Officer James McVeigh (2019), Officer Corey Pfister (2020).
Award ceremonies typically take place in January, but due to Covid, a small recognition ceremony was held for Albany at the police department in which Albany’s family, wife, mother and father in-laws, and a few officers were invited.
“I know my parents and my wife were very, very happy for me to receive this award [as well as] my extended family,” Albany said. “I just love doing this job. [I] love coming to work every day to work within the borough, and serve the residents of Lansdale. It's truly an honor.”
Trail said it has been difficult to be a police officer within the past few years, and seeing officers get recognized for their work is both “humbling and refreshing.”
“There's a lot of great work that gets done in the community that often goes unnoticed,” Trail said. “I've always said it's very easy to criticize when mistakes are made, and we don't necessarily do a great job of recognizing when good things happen. [Getting] in uniform [to] come out and serve the community of Lansdale to the level that they do is worth recognizing.”
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