Six officers will retire during '09

[admin]

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1223/front_page/015.html

Six officers will retire during '09


FREEHOLD — The borough police department will be losing some of its "finest" in 2009 as six longtime officers retire from the force.

The Borough Council passed a resolution on Dec. 15 to accept the retirement of six police officers.

The following officers will retire in 2009: Detective Sgt. Timothy Jablonski, effective Sept. 1; Detective Michael Giglio, effective Sept. 1; Lt. Phillip G. Ecks, effectiveAug. 1; Detective Daniel Heulitt, effective Oct. 1; Patrolman Steven Cicero, effective April 1; and Sgt. William Bismarck, effective April 1.

Police Chief Mitch Roth said, "The six police officers retiring from our force in 2009 will be missed by not only the department, but just as importantly, by the community. Their experience and expertise has served the department and the town at the highest level of community service a police department can ever hope to have."



Councilman Kevin Kane, who serves as Police Commissioner, wished the six officers much luck in retirement and in all of their future endeavors.

"They have been with us for a long time and have had excellent, long careers," Kane said. "They have all been as asset to our community and they will be missed."

— Clare Marie Celano

[admin]

This hurts. For a small department like ours to lose six veterans in one year is a big loss of experience. It is hard and takes time to get that back.

I also have to wonder if something is going on. My job is seeing the same thing, old timers packing up and retiring in droves and most of them can't wait to get out. I hope that is no what is going on in our police department.

Either way, I wish all of these officers well and thank them for their many years of service to the residents of our town.

[botaniseur]

Unffortunetly, that iswhat is going on..Several of those retirees arent waiting the extra 5 years to do 25 yrs. and have medical at retirement. Not a good sign.This town doesnt want pro-active police, it wants these officers to "hug" everyone and be politically correct, meanwhile crime is out of control in this little town. Last week alone there were 9 burglaries...keep that downtown cop goin, least all is safe there.

[cloris]

Dec 28, 2008 17:16:51 GMT -5 botaniseur said:

Unffortunetly, that iswhat is going on..Several of those retirees arent waiting the extra 5 years to do 25 yrs. and have medical at retirement. Not a good sign.This town doesnt want pro-active police, it wants these officers to "hug" everyone and be politically correct, meanwhile crime is out of control in this little town. Last week alone there were 9 burglaries...keep that downtown cop goin, least all is safe there.

It looks like you are backing up what Brian wrote. Do you have any further information? It is sad to see so many go at one time. I do wish them the best and thank them for serving us.

[admin]

May 6, 2009 15:05:33 GMT -5 @johnwinger said:

Clearing up the retirement issues. The two officers who recently retired had reached twenty five years of service. As for the other four pending retirements, all will have twenty five years or more when they complete burning off time. With that said, the morale & backing issues probably pursuaded the officers from staying the additional years to achieve maximum benefit. The relationship between the town & the department has been strained for years. No fault of the officers who dont share in the "good old boy" mind set. Hugs is definetely preferred over enforement. For a small town, the borough more then holds it's own in crime stats. When officers dont feel backed and supported, you get what the APP reported. Increased ticket. Writing a ticket on highway nine is a walk in the park compared to getting guns, drugs & gang bangers off our streets.

John,

Very interesting first post. it certainly backs up some of the whispers that have been hitting the streets and this site.

[novillero]

May 6, 2009 15:05:33 GMT -5 @johnwinger said:

Clearing up the retirement issues. The two officers who recently retired had reached twenty five years of service. As for the other four pending retirements, all will have twenty five years or more when they complete burning off time. With that said, the morale & backing issues probably pursuaded the officers from staying the additional years to achieve maximum benefit. The relationship between the town & the department has been strained for years. No fault of the officers who dont share in the "good old boy" mind set. Hugs is definetely preferred over enforement. For a small town, the borough more then holds it's own in crime stats. When officers dont feel backed and supported, you get what the APP reported. Increased ticket. Writing a ticket on highway nine is a walk in the park compared to getting guns, drugs & gang bangers off our streets.

are you referring to the crime stats from this week?

Report: Violent crime drops in New Jersey, but nonviolent crime is up
TRENTON — A new report indicates a decline in violent crime in New Jersey but a 5 percent increase in total crime due to a rising number of nonviolent offenses.

The New Jersey Uniform Crime Report, released today by the state Attorney General's Office, shows violent crime down 3 percent for the first six months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.

The half-year UCR finds an increase in the number of murders and rapes, but a drop in reported robberies and aggravated assaults. Burglaries and thefts increased by 7 percent.

Overall, crime increased in 14 of the state's 21 counties.

Gloucester County reported the highest percentage increase -- 19 percent. The highest numbers of crimes were reported in Essex and Camden counties.

www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990504084

THIS REPORT (based on county numbers, not towns) IS AT:
www.njsp.org/info/pdf/crimeindex_janjune08.pdf

[admin]

The following is certainly some good news. With several cops retiring and a really tight budget, it is good to see that we are getting some replacements. In a town where the violent crime rate is third highest in the county, this is a public safety issue that we should all care about. And we should also continue giving our police the support they deserve.



newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2009/0805/front_page/003.html

Freehold adds two patrolmen to force
Former sheriff's officers join police department
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
Freehold Borough has hired two formerM onmouth County Sheriff's Department officers to replace two veterans officers who have retired from the Freehold Borough Police Department.

Patrolman Samuel Hernandez and Patrolman Peter Romanski are already patrolling Freehold's streets under the supervision of a field training officer and will likely be on their own in short order, according to Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina.

Hernandez and Romanski were laid off from their jobs in the sheriff's department when that department recently reduced its uniformed staff, Bellina said.

By virtue of their previous employment with the sheriff's department, Hernandez and Romanski had already been trained and were qualified to join Freehold Borough's police force, according to Bellina.

Hernandez and Romanski will replace Sgt. William Bismarck and Patrolman Steve Cicero on the force.



Hernandez, 30, was born in El Salvador. He graduated from the Monmouth County Police Academy in December 2008. He was laid off from the sheriff's office in May. Hernandez said he believes he will be a "good fit" for Freehold Borough. He is married and has two children.

The Freehold Borough Police Department is likely to see more veteran officers leave the ranks in 2010 as Lt. Philip Ecks, Detective Michael Giglio, Detective Timothy Jablonski and Detective Daniel Heulitt become eligible for retirement.

For the moment, however, the police department is fully staffed with 34 officers, which includes a police chief, one captain, one lieutenant and three sergeants. There are several detectives and the remaining officers are patrolmen.

Borough officials were recently notified that the town will not be receiving any money this year from the federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.

Bellina said when municipal officials heard that Freehold Borough would not receive any COPS funding, "We were blown away."

He said officials submitted "a comprehensive, viable application with the necessary justification for the replacement of our officers."

"Who knows what factors and criteria they employed in the determination of their awards?" the borough administrator asked.

Bellina said the police department's manpower will be reassessed at the end of the year.

"We will evaluate all departments in the preparation of the 2010 budget," he said.