2004 Media Releases:

CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
VINCENT P. SARUBBI, CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
MEDIA   INFORMATION

March 19, 2004

Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi, Acting Camden Police Chief Edwin J. Figueroa, Camden Mayor Gwendolyn Faison and city Chief Operating Officer Randy Primas today announced a reorganization of the Camden Police Department designed to put more officers on the street during high-crime periods and deploy them more effectively to address crime "hot spots."

The reorganization is the culmination of a cooperative effort by the Prosecutor's Office and the Police Department that began last year after New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey directed Sarubbi to supersede the department's then-leadership. In addition, Sarubbi and Figueroa announced today that the department has completed all but five of the 82 action points that the state Division of Criminal Justice recommended after examining department operations in 2002. The actions run the gamut from reducing a backlog of Internal Affairs cases to improving salaries and training for emergency dispatchers. The five outstanding points involve rewriting of internal policies, which are expected to be completed by June.

"This new organizational structure and implementing the action points are helping a fine police department be the best it can," Sarubbi stated. "The hard-working and dedicated men and women of the Camden Police Department deserve nothing less than a framework that enables them to accomplish their mission: protecting the city's law-abiding residents. And those residents deserve nothing less than safe streets and neighborhoods."

A number of officers being promoted as part of the reorganization will be sworn in today at a ceremony scheduled for at 1:30 p.m. in Camden City Council Chambers, City Hall, 520 Market St., Camden.

As part of the reorganization, the department has added 30 new officers over the past several months, bringing the number of sworn officers to 432. In addition, the personnel blueprint puts 20 more officers on the street by closing four district houses and reassigning officers stationed in them back to street duty. Under the new organizational structure, patrol officers muster for Central Roll Call at new, modern quarters in the Virtua Hospital building on Mount Ephraim Avenue, rather than being split among the dilapidated trailers that served as district houses. Central Roll Call allows commanders to share information with all patrol officers and deploy them as needed.

Central to the reorganization plan is creation of the Bureau of Special Operations, a unique coordination of directed patrol units, narcotics investigation and community policing officers. The bureau, commanded by a police captain, is cast as the leader of the violent crime and open-air drug market suppression effort. Previously, command of these units was divided among several captains.

By focusing on peak times and hot spots determined through crime analysis and crime mapping, the Special Operations Bureau can efficiently allocate personnel where they are needed most. The bureau is separate and distinct from the patrol unit, which primarily responds to calls for service and performs patrol functions in specified areas. The Special Operations Bureau gives the department a proactive crime-fighting tool in analytically determined "hot spots" throughout the city. The Strategic Anti-Firearm Enforcement Initiative (S.A.F.E.), established last summer, is the bureau's first proactive initiative.

The reorganization also includes creation of a "Comstat" unit that utilizes a Geographical Information System (GIS) to perform computer analysis of crime data. This law enforcement management approach uses real-time information to coordinate directed patrols and specialized units, assess effectiveness of strategies and develop follow-up operations. This approach also allows department leaders to hold command supervisors accountable for reducing crime in their designated areas.

"The new command structure will help us pinpoint areas of need and respond rapidly to address them," Figueroa said. "It enhances our ability to address crime proactively by directing personnel in a coordinated way."

This week, Anthony Saponare, Chief of Investigations for the Prosecutor's Office, and Camden Chief Figueroa signed a series of five general orders that accomplish the reorganization. Saponare, who served 25 years with the Camden Police Department and retired as deputy chief, was Prosecutor Sarubbi's designee to work with Chief Figueroa and his staff on implementing state recommendations, reorganizing the department and developing proactive crime-fighting initiatives.

Sarubbi praised and thanked Saponare and Figueroa for working together for the betterment of the police department and the benefit of the citizenry. The prosecutor also noted that it was Chief Figueroa who identified Virtua Hospital as a Central Roll Call site and successfully pursued the arrangement. In addition to providing officers with a clean, functional and modern facility for Central Roll Call, it increases police presence in the area around the hospital, which has been plagued by high crime rates.

"The new facility within Virtua is a win for everyone involved - the department, the officers, the neighborhood and the hospital," Sarubbi said. "I commend Chief Figueroa for his foresight in developing the idea and his hard work and determination to see the project through to fruition."