Camden mayor: County police will replace city police force; 270 officers could be laid off

Wednesday, August 08, 2012, 6:43 PM 

CAMDEN — Mayor Dana Redd on Wednesday announced the city will lay off its entire police force in order to make way for a county-wide police department.

Camden’s 270 police officers could receive their layoff notices by the end of the year. According to officials, the county police force would include a new Camden Metro Police Division, with 400 officers. Current plans would permit no more than half of the city’s 270 officers to be hired for the new division.

“I commend the mayor for taking a bold step toward improving public safety with a Camden County police force,” said Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli. “This may be the boldest action ever taken by a mayor of Camden in order to protect the residents of the city.”

According to Cappelli, Camden is the only municipality to show interest in joining a county-wide police department as soon as possible.

He stated others have “expressed interest,” but added he could not say which municipalities were interested.

“None of the local forces will be diminished,” he said. “The focus will be on police; not supervisors.

“There are 36 police chiefs in Camden County, all with the corresponding captains and other superior officers. Right now, Camden can only afford to pay for 270 police officers. The cost will stay roughly the same, but there will be more officers with less supervisors.”

The cost of policing Camden currently stands at approximately $60 million for the year.

Camden County officials are expected to make an announcement regarding the hiring of county-wide police officers late next week. Field training for the officers will begin soon after that.

Under the plan, current Camden Police Chief Scott Thompson would be placed in command of the metro division.

Earlier this summer, the Camden County Freeholders signed a contract with a former top New Jersey law enforcement official to help them establish the new force.

The Cordero Group, led by Jose Cordero, a former New York City Police Department inspector, was hired to assist in building the Metro Division.

Participation in the county police force would be voluntary, which gives rise to the possibility that Camden City could be the only municipality to sign on at first.

However, Cappelli stated officials have to act now if they want to address crime in the city.

“With the 2 percent cap, we’re looking at decreasing revenues — the city laid off 300 officers [in 2011],” said Cappelli. “The problems are going to continue unless there is a change in the structure of public safety.”

Police union leaders on the other hand are lambasting the plan, arguing it will eliminate seasoned officers and replace them with new recruits, putting residents at risk.

John Williamson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Camden, which represents 230 of the city’s police officers, said the union is exploring all options in order to fight the layoff plan.

“It’s a sad day that we have to go through this again,” said Williamson. “We’re not going to just sit back while this happens; we’re looking at all legal options.”

To Williamson, a new county-wide department would mean officers who are unfamiliar with the city, its culture and its people.

He added the move could jeopardize response times and community outreach.

“They’re talking about getting rid of an 141-year-old agency for a brand new, unproved entity,” he said. “What they’re essentially doing to running an experiment with public safety, and they’re experimenting with people’s lives.”

Mayor Redd offered a statement this evening, criticizing the nearly 30 percent absentee rate within the police department.

“The safety and well being of all the children and families of Camden is my top concern and priority. Given the recent spike in homicides and an absentee rate of nearly 30 percent within the Camden Police Department, I recently announced that the city is aggressively moving towards joining the Camden Metro Division.

“As the plans are being finalized, we need to ensure that we have every uniformed police officer, including the union leadership, patrolling our neighborhoods and business corridors. The union leadership has previously stated that their members work too much overtime and are tired.

“Asking all available uniformed police officers to come into work during their shift should help alleviate some of the absenteeism and overtime issues that are affecting the department.”

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/08/camden_mayor_announces_plan_to.html