Hempfield Area police chief set to retire, former Jeannette police chief to take his place

After a decade serving as police chief for Hempfield Area School District, Len Lander will retire from his post.

Former Jeannette police Chief Shannon Binda will take the reins in the new year, following a vote by the school board Monday.

Lander was a state police trooper from 1991 to 2012, working undercover his last 12 years with the Criminal Investigations Bureau. He started at Hempfield in 2014, when his children were enrolled in the district.

“The district employees, they all like us to be here,” he said. “We have a really good working relationship.”

One of Lander’s main roles has been building a relationship with the students.

“We build a rapport with the students by talking to them on a daily basis,” he said, noting students have grown comfortable approaching one of the school’s 16 officers to ask questions and engage in casual conversation.

“It kind of bridged that gap between students and police officers,” Lander said.

But, now, Lander feels it is time to retire. His last day will be Dec. 20.

“It’s time to get out of the police work and start concentrating on my family,” he said.

A current police officer in the district, Binda will start as chief Jan. 2 with a pay rate of $35 an hour.

Binda spent 31 years working for the Jeannette Police Department, serving as chief for the last seven. He started working part-time for the district in the early 1990s, running security during football games.

He became a full-time officer in the district when he retired from his Jeannette post in 2021.

“He’s great with our students and just a super nice guy,” Superintendent Mark Holtzman said of Binda. “His interactions, especially with some of our students with special needs — those kids adore him. That says a lot about his character as well as his relationships with others. We’re pretty excited we were able to get that done.”

The duties of school police officers have changed in recent years, Binda said, referencing the district’s push to install metal detectors after three high school students passed loaded handguns in a bathroom and on a school bus in October 2023.

“Society dictates what the school district does to protect its faculty and students,” Binda said. “It’s bad that it has to be that way, but it’s a good thing that the school district is trying to stay ahead of it.”

The district purchased six OpenGate weapons detectors for more than $111,000 in July and doubled up on its security measures in September — spending more than $103,500 on six more devices.

The devices — two parallel poles that create a gate for students to walk through — cost about $18,000 each. Students at the high school, Harrold School and two middle schools walk through the weapons detectors as they enter the building each day.

School board member Mike Alfery said Monday the metal detectors are working smoothly. The sensors on a few of the devices stationed in the high school field house will be tweaked in the coming days.

“They’re extremely sensitive,” Alfery said, noting it might be tied to a programming issue from the manufacturer.