Camden police to go it alone

Originally Published May 26, 2008; Page 1A
By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff

The on-again, off-again relationship between New Jersey State Police and the City of Camden may end this summer if Gov. Jon S. Corzine's current budget proposal is accepted, officials said.

For over a week now, the governor has stood strong, backing a plan to charge the city $800,000 for state police coverage. Members of city government said they can't afford such a cost and law enforcement officials said they're not prepared to handle the task of covering the city alone.

"We're already stretched thin as it is," said Camden Police Director Carmelo John Huertas Jr. "To lose that would be really detrimental."


Across the state, 76 municipalities receive full-time state police coverage and 13 receive part-time patrols. Newark and Irvington receive help similar to Camden, where troopers work with city police agencies.

Those costs, said Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner, add up to $80 million a year. Corzine's proposal seeks for towns receiving the help to pay $20.9 million of that.

New Jersey has $32 billion in bonded debt. Corzine is attempting to eliminate that.

"The bottom line is, the governor has asked all levels of government to tighten their belts and learn to do more with less," Gardner said. "In some cases, it's less with less."

City officials said they already feel as if they're doing that.

Under state control since 2002, the city remains in such bad financial shape that it's budget is funded almost entirely by the state each year. Camden City Council President Angel Fuentes said officials are currently struggling to fund the purchase of 25 police vehicles and, Mayor Gwendolyn Faison said, there likely isn't enough money to approve the hiring of any new police officers until 2010.

"We need help," she said. "We're about 40 policemen down. Ten more are eligible to retire this year."

Given those circumstances, officials said, simply having the extra manpower from the state police, currently 16 to 20 troopers, is a help.

"They're critical," Huertas said. "(Having the help) is a vital component of our law enforcement arm."

When the city's police department redeployed resources based on crime statistics in January, for example, it used state troopers to aid the initiatives. And when a shooting response team was developed over three years ago to investigate all reported gunshots, the state police joined the fold.

It's paid off.

Crime in Level I priority areas -- where state troopers serve as supplemental forces -- is down by 30 percent. And the clearance rate for shootings has jumped from 10 to 40 percent.

"Imagine losing that capability," Huertas said. "They come to work, they work well with us."

Huertas, who reports to New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, said he has not yet spoken to his boss about the possible situation.

But David Wald, Milgram's spokesman, said public safety in Camden has been -- and will remain -- "one of our highest priorities."

"The Attorney General is actively engaged with law enforcement in the city," Wald said. "And we are not stepping back."

That runs in discord with the governor's office.

If city officials find state police help valuable enough, Gardner said, they'll need to find a way to pay for it.

"In every budgetary decision, there's a cost benefit analysis," he said. "At some point, it comes down to the basic number of dollars that are available. Certainly, the administration is cognizant of the fact that there are some situations and circumstances in Camden that deserve some attention. But we're looking at the state budget as a whole."

Reach Leo Strupczewski at (856) 317-7828 or lstrupczewski@courierpostonline.com