As reported by nj.com, the last county parks department in the State will be shuttered soon, as officials in Camden County announced they plan to close the office due to a dearth of service calls and an already dwindling force. The 13 officers remaining in the parks police department will be transferred this spring to the countywide police force, which will be tasked with patrolling Camden City.

“This process has been ongoing for years and will finally bring Camden County in line with its counterparts in the state by eliminating this duplicative service,” said Camden County Freeholder Lou Cappelli, in a statement. “All parks police officers will be transferred and re-purposes to the Camden County Police Department’s Metro Division, so they can have more of an impact on crime.”

According to county officials, closing the parks police, which patrols Camden County’s 22 parks throughout 17 of its 37 municipalities, will save $2 million. County officials said the $2 million savings will be put toward other countywide public safety services, including the dispatch center. 

Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen pointed to a study conducted for the county by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which states the parks police office currently manages a “modest workload and the absence of attention-demanding crime.” Keashen stated the department averages about two services calls per day.

“The statistics speak for themselves and as we assess our public safety needs throughout the county it is evident that these officers would be more effective in the Metro Division,” said Cappelli. “That said, the budgetary savings from the elimination of the parks police can be reinvested into our emergency communications center and our growing emergency operations center, both of which are undergoing significant upgrades.”

Tags: Articles, Camden County, Camden Metro Division, Camden parks department, countywide police force, merger, parks police, shared services
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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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