Gettysburg’s new police chief, Dave Snyder, is only a few weeks into the job, but he already has a clear sense of both the opportunities and the pressures that come with policing one of the country’s most visited small towns.
Snyder, who previously served in Hampstead, Md., and earlier in Lower Merion Township near Philadelphia, said Gettysburg presents a unique challenge: a small police force responsible not only for a borough of about 6,000 residents, but also for millions of annual visitors, major events, and the county seat’s courts and services.
“You’re trying to do that with a police department that’s based on a year-round population that’s significantly smaller,” Snyder said during an interview with Gettysburg Connection. “You have to be able to adjust.”
Snyder described modern policing as far more complicated than many residents realize, involving everything from records management systems and communications infrastructure to recruitment, training, technology, mental health response, and public communication.
One of his priorities, he said, is maintaining a visible and approachable police presence in the community.
“Community policing is out there,” Snyder said. “There’s law enforcement and there’s public safety, which includes law, but it also includes being on the square talking to people, chatting about, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’”
Snyder said interactions with children and families are especially important in building trust. “Anytime we have an opportunity to do something with kids, that’s important,” he said. “In many ways, our job is sales. We’re selling the product and the service that we provide.”
At the same time, Snyder acknowledged that police departments across the country face growing public scrutiny and staffing shortages.
“We’re in a very difficult recruiting market,” he said. “Nobody wants to do this job.”
He said departments once drew hundreds or even thousands of applicants for a few openings. Today, many agencies struggle to attract any candidates at all.
The chief also emphasized the importance of transparency while recognizing that police departments cannot always immediately share information during investigations.
“When we mess up, we’ll be as transparent as we can be,” Snyder said. “When you make mistakes, own it. ‘Hey, we could have done better. We’ll try better next time.’”
Social media, he said, can be useful for alerts, traffic updates, and requests for public assistance in cases such as hit-and-runs, but it also creates pressure for immediate information that is not always accurate.
“People now want everything boom, boom, boom,” Snyder said. “But that’s not always possible.”
Snyder said Gettysburg’s officers are professionally handling a large call volume despite limited resources. He praised borough staff and elected officials for supporting the department.
“You have a very supportive council here,” he said. “That’s not always the case.”
Mental health response is another growing challenge, Snyder said, noting that many incidents police handle involve people in crisis. He praised Adams County’s crisis intervention partnerships and said law enforcement increasingly relies on collaboration with mental health professionals.
“Mental health services get shortchanged all the time,” Snyder said. “There’s not enough of that.”
Although still settling into the role, completing some certification requirements, and waiting for his new uniform to be tailored, Snyder said he has been impressed by the borough and the department’s staff.
“This is a good place. Good people. Well-meaning people,” he said. “We have challenges like everybody else. We’ll trip every now and then. We’ll take responsibility for that. But at the end of the day, everybody here is trying to do the right thing.”
