THE ISSUE:Â Lancaster city hired a social worker to join its police department in September 2019. In her first 18 months on the job, Leilany Tran referred more than 400 cases for social work, LNP | LancasterOnlineâs Dan Nephin reported Tuesday. To help with that workload, the department hired a second social worker, Grace Mentzer, earlier this year. Now-retired Capt. Sonja Stebbins first proposed using social workers in the department after studying the concept at Northwestern Universityâs School of Police Staff & Command. The headline on Nephinâs article states: âHow social workers are transforming the city police department.â And thereâs no doubt they are. Nephin details how Tran â and now Mentzer â have bolstered the effectiveness of the city police force and helped at-risk members of the community.