Public Safety
Park Police - History
The Camden County Park Police were established in 1926 as part of the then newly formed Camden County Park Commission. Contrary to popular belief, the Park Police are a county police organization with jurisdiction in all of the municipalities within the county. The primary function of the Park Police is the protection of life and property within the Camden County Park system. The county park system consists of over 4,700 acres of parkland and waterways spread throughout 15 different municipalities. The parks range from urban type settings in Camden City, such as the Ulysses S. Wiggins Waterfront Park, through suburban parks like those along the Cooper River to the rural parks like New Brooklyn Park in Winslow Township.At the present time, the Camden County Department of Parks and Recreation is proceeding with plans to expand several of our parks. This expansion includes the continued development of the Wiggins Waterfront Park in Camden City, which is adjacent to the Adventure Aquarium, the Battleship New Jersey and portions of the Susquehanna Bank Center concert venue. Park development is also taking place in Gloucester Township where “Timber Creek Park" is taking shape. This expansion and development will bring even greater numbers of people to the park system.
The Camden County Park Police are also responsible for police services at the Camden County Human Services Complex in Lakeland which contains the County Health Services Hospital and the Juvenile Detention Center. The Park Police handle thousands of calls each year and this number increases as park usage and development increases. Like every other police department, we handle a full range of complaints from minor incidents like juvenile and noise complaints to major crimes like robbery, rape & homicide. The Park Police are also responsible for traffic control and enforcement along over 30 miles of roadway that run through the park system. We investigate hundreds of motor vehicle accidents per year along our roadways which include heavily used county highways, a portion of state highway and a section of U.S. Rt. 130.
Because of our countywide police powers, the Park Police are often called upon to assist the municipal police when the need arises. For several months during 1989, the Park Police force supplemented the depleted Lawnside Police Department, providing regular police patrols and answering calls for service in the community while their local police department underwent a major restructuring.
The former Park Police Mounted Unit was frequently seen patrolling many of the areas on horseback providing a police presence in areas not readily accessible to the regular street patrols. We now access most of these areas with ATV's and bicycles, and our officers are routinely seen riding them around Cooper River, and in many of the wooded areas of the county parks.
The Crime Prevention Unit frequently conducts free child seat safety checks and visits many schools with their DWI awareness campaign.
