As reported by NJ.com, retaining police officers has been a challenge for many New Jersey municipal police departments.  Shortfalls in city and municipal budgets can, and have lead to layoffs and demotions. When Senior police officers retire their positions never get refilled and the data shows that this occurs more often than not in New Jersey cities with the most violent crime rates.  In addition, as a result of the two percent (2%) interest arbitration salary cap, the two percent (2%) property tax cap levy and the “social media” difficulties associated with policing, recruitment and retention has been extremely difficult.

Despite the foregoing, there are police departments that are actively taking steps to reverse attrition and bolster their ranks.  NJ Advance Media analyzed seven years worth of data turned in by municipal law enforcement agencies to the FBI and found the 20 police departments across the state that have lost the most employees — both civilians and officers — from 2010 to 2016.

In terms of percentage decreases, Medford and Pemberton having each lost over 40% of their officers from 2010 to 2016, have experienced the largest reduction in ranks according to the NJ.Com sampling. Yet, in terms of the sheer number of officer reductions, Newark, Paterson, Trenton, and East Orange lead the pack as they have all experienced a substantial reduction in their law enforcement workforce.

It is also worth noting that in performing a cross reference with NJ.com’s list of towns with the highest violent crime rates,  thirteen of the municipalities with the highest increases in crime were also included in the towns with the largest shrinking police forces.  Taking all of this together, one must scratch their head in trying to figure out the phenomenon that is occurring across the state of New Jersey where our largest most violent cities are now being policed with less officers. Additionally, the pay that our largest city’s officers receive is no where near the top officer salary reflected across the state.  While are cities are being asked to do more with less money so to are our law enforcement officers.  We will continue to review this data as it becomes available, especially in light of the changing social perceptions of police work and the changes in pay and benefits associated with the position of employment.

 

Tags: 2% Interest Arbitration Salary Cap, 2% Property Tax Cap Levy, 2% Salary Cap, benefit reform, New Jersey State Police, NJ Crime, NJ Municipal Police, NJ Officer Reductions, NJ Police, NJ Public Safety Employees, NJ Public Safety Officers, NJ State PBA, NJSP, Police, Public Employment Labor Law
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Photo of Michael DeRose Michael DeRose

Michael P. DeRose is a shareholder at the firm and primarily focuses his practice in labor/ employment law and other aspects of civil litigation, such as contract disputes. He has litigated and tried hundreds of matters before the Superior Court of New Jersey…

Michael P. DeRose is a shareholder at the firm and primarily focuses his practice in labor/ employment law and other aspects of civil litigation, such as contract disputes. He has litigated and tried hundreds of matters before the Superior Court of New Jersey, the Office of Administrative Law and the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission on behalf of various labor unions and their members. Michael has extensive experience defending and fighting for members of law enforcement and other public employees facing adverse disciplinary action, such as termination or suspension from employment. He also frequently argues before New Jersey’s Appellate Division on behalf of his clients.

A large portion of his practice is also devoted to contract negotiations on behalf of union clients, representing such clients in grievance arbitration/ contract disputes, and otherwise advising union leaders on labor and employment matters.  Michael also has significant experience in the realm of interest arbitration on behalf of the firm’s law enforcement and firefighter unions. As a result of the firm’s robust labor and employment practice, Michael regularly appears before various state agencies, such as the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits, the State Health Benefits Commission, and NJ PERC. In addition to representing labor unions and active employees, Michael also represents retirees before the Division of Pensions in disability retirement applications, both ordinary and accidental disability retirement, in pension forfeiture actions, and in other miscellaneous pension disputes. He also counsels private business and their principals in contract and employment law, in addition to representing their interests in civil litigation. Michael has a track record of obtaining favorable outcomes for his clients and treats each everyone of them on an individual and particularized basis in accordance with their needs.

Before joining the firm in August of 2015, Michael was an associate counsel at a civil litigation firm out in Trenton, New Jersey, where he principally focused his practice around employment law and tort claims litigation. Prior to that, he served as a law clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey for the Honorable F. Patrick McManimon, Mercer County Vicinage, from September of 2012 to August of 2013, where he attained significant experience in the realm of alternative dispute resolution having mediated well-over one-hundred cases, primarily related to commercial and residential landlord/ tenant disputes and contract/ business litigation. He earned his Juris Doctorate in 2012 after graduating from the Western Michigan University-Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. In 2007, he earned his Bachelor of the Arts in Criminal Justice and Public Administration from Kean University where he was a member of the Kean University baseball team and vice president of the Alpha Phi Sigma chapter of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society.

Michael is admitted to the New Jersey State Bar, the United States Federal Court for the District of New Jersey, and is a member of the Mercer County Bar Association.

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