Senator Calls For Resignation Of Freeholder Who Skipped County Police Merger Meeting

Freeholders Rob Hermansen and Maura DeNicola purposely skipped meeting, report says

North Jersey Police Issue Hundreds Of Summonses For Not Buckling Up

Police around the area, including Bergen County, crack down over Memorial Day weekend.

Law enforcement officials issued more than 350 summonses to local drivers over the holiday weekend who were caught not wearing their seat belts. The summonses were issued as part of an initiative conducted by the Passaic County Aggressive Driving Task Force to promote safe driving during the Memorial Day weekend. The Bergen County Police Department was part of the enforcement effort.  The goal was to reduce motor vehicle crashes and fatalities and promote safety belt usage by travelers, especially passengers sitting in rear seats. The sweep coincided with the national Click It Or Ticket campaign. Les Goldstein, coordinator of the sweep with the Passaic County Office of Highway Traffic Safety, said in a statement that the use of safety …

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Mike

10:32 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012

LOL   more ›

Donovan, Saudino Spar As Task Force Rejects Cutting County Police

Sheriff blasts County Exec's task force as "subterfuge" and asks issue be put on the ballot. Task force was commissioned to review a $600,000 study that recommended cutting or eliminating the county police.

Editor's Note: For more about this story, see Patch's in-depth look at the battle for the $22 million Bergen County police department. A task force commissioned by Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan has rejected a private consultant’s recommendation that the county’s police department be eliminated or downsized. Consultant Guidepost Solutions had completed a study last year, which was commissioned by the previous administration, detailing three scenarios where the county police would be eliminated, downsized or its operations transferred to the county sheriff. Tuesday’s report by Donovan’s Bergen County Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force, however, said increased retirements, the newly enacted 2 percent spending cap coupled with…

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The Fight Over The Future Of A $22 Million Police Department

Six months since a study recommended sweeping changes to Bergen County Police Department, none have come.

Note: This story was published on Dec. 4, 2011 Six months after a study called for sweeping changes to the Bergen County Police Department, none of the study's central recommendations have been implemented as the fight over the future of the agency continues, a fight that has seemingly chilled the relationship of two county leaders who were allies this time last year.  Bergen County officials are currently waiting for a second report on the county police that’s supposed to be completed early next year, this one by a committee created by County Executive Kathleen Donovan. Critics - most notably Sheriff Michael Saudino, who swept into office with Donovan last November - argue the panel is composed primarily of political appointees rather …

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Bergen County Authorities Launch 24-hour Joint Patrols of Religious Sites After Bias Attacks

County patrols will support local police efforts.

County police and sheriff’s officers have begun 24-hour joint patrols of religious sites across Bergen County in the wake of a string of bias attacks targeting the Jewish community, authorities said Friday. Marked units from the two departments are working in cooperation with local police to check ethnic community centers and religious sites from a range of faiths, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a statement.  “All community and religious centers will benefit from the strategy, including synagogues, mosques, churches and other houses of worship,” Molinelli said. Law enforcement officials and Jewish community leaders met Thursday in Paramus to discuss the rash of hate crimes. The attacks began in December when synagogues …

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From Alpine To Wyckoff, Police Manpower All Over The Map

Patch compiled its rankings by taking manpower numbers for municipal police departments and comparing them to census data.

In many ways, Alpine and South Hackensack have little in common. Rich with wooded hills and multimillion-dollar homes, Alpine has a per capita income in the six figures and often makes its way into the rankings of New Jersey’s best places to live. Meanwhile, South Hackensack’s main distinction is being New Jersey’s only town divided into three unconnected segments. Gritty and industrial, much of South Hackensack’s main residential area sits sandwiched between Routes 46 and 80. But their differences aside, Alpine and South Hackensack share a distinction. They stand at the top of Bergen County’s rankings in terms of having the most police officers per capita. Alpine has 7.98 officers per 1,000 residents, while South Hackensack’s rate is …

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publius

5:29 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011

just a thought, while I can make an argument for regionalization with the best of them; has anyone given a thought that while one may see a savings (I stress may) in their local tax, I bet there will be a corresponding increase in their county tax to cover the regionalized forces. NOt sure if this would happen but I'm thinking it would.   more ›

Mahwah Resident New Bergen County Police Chief

Brian Higgins will remain Public Safety Director as County Executive combines positions

Mahwah resident and Bergen County Public Safety Director Brian Higgins has been appointed County Police Chief, according to an announcement by County Executive Kathleen Donovan Monday. Higgins, formerly an officer in Carlstadt and county police captain who was appointed Public Safety Director in January, replaces Uwe Malakas, who retired after 31 years on the county and Wallington police forces. Malakas was appointed by former county executive Dennis McNerney and is retiring after eight months as county chief. Mahwah Police Chief Jim Batelli told Patch he was very pleased with the selection. “I think the choice of Brian Higgins as the Bergen County Police Chief was a great selection. Our agency has worked with Chief Higgins in a number of …

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