The Pana Police Department is looking to fill a vacancy after the retirement of long-time officer Richard Rahar.  For a small town like Pana, finding a replacement is a tall order.  They have sought officers from other police departments but also consider turning to the community to find their next officer. 

Police Chief Daniel Bland says Officer Rahar was part of the department through major shifts in the availability of technology and played a significant role in the transitions. 

The department has brought in some of its officers through “lateral transfers.”  This means they moved into the same role from another police department. 

Around half of the team at the Pana Police Department is originally from that city.  These officers typically have increased familiarity of the area in which they enforce the law.  However, as they are more likely to know the people they interact with, this may make the job emotionally challenging to execute at times. 

Separate from the turnover, incident numbers from 2025 are in.  Chief Bland says they are moving in the right direction overall.  He notes that calls are down around 40% between 2017 and now. 

Chief Bland credits the improvement to being proactive and using programs like Safe Passage to help people escape cycles of committing crimes

More information on the Pana Police Department is available at www.cityofpana.org/police-department.

Police Chief Daniel Bland appeared as a guest on the WTIM Pana Morning Show.