As reported by nj.com, overwhelmed by rising crime and massive police layoffs, the struggling city of Camden pledged Tuesday to be the first municipality to join a new county police force intended to be a model for other cash-strapped New Jersey cities and towns. The city, which has one of the highest crime rates in the nation, signed an agreement with county and state officials to draft plans for the new Camden County Police Department by Sept. 30. County officials are to coordinate the formation of the department, which will then require approval of the state Department of Community Affairs.

The regional force is likely to be the first of its kind in the state. Somerset and Morris counties are considering similar arrangements. Still, it is unclear if other Camden County communities will volunteer to sign on to the force-and how much police union officials will protest the inevitable layoffs to result-making its future uncertain.

Supporters of the regional approach to policing say consolidation will take pressure off local budgets by combining administrative and back-office tasks, and at the same time bolster purchasing power to get better prices on equipment.  

Under the plan, each municipality that joins the county force would dissolve its department. Because of federal labor law, only 49 percent of the officers in each town could be rehired to join the county force. Who would hire the balance of the officers, however, remains undecided.

Edward Brannigan, president of the state Fraternal Order of Police, was quick to denounce the plan, saying he feared officers hired by the county would be paid less and receive fewer benefits. He also said he was concerned that a countywide force would focus more on Camden, where the crime rate is far higher than in the suburbs. “It’s horrible,” Brannigan said. “The whole thing is horrible. This is nothing but union busting.”

The plan was not uniformly embaraced by law enforcement officials, however. The Camden County Prosecutor, Warren Faulk, said any efforts to consolidate the police force should focus on putting more police resources into the city. “The devil is in the details, and we are very interested to learn the details of the county’s plan,” he said. “The priority for the city of Camden needs to be putting more officers on the streets, and we would be receptive to any effort that achieves this end.”

Wayne Fisher, director of the Rutgers Police Institute, said the plan will live or die depending on how many communities participate, and how the cities and towns balance their services. The agreement will not be official until votes are taken by the Camden City Council on Aug. 9 and the county freeholder board on Aug. 16.

Tags: Articles, Camden County, Camden PD, Camden Police Department, consolidation, FOP, NJ Police, regionalization
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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