Monroe gets four new officers to keep crime rate down while the population increases.
By: Leon Tovey
MONROE The number of police officers in the township grew by four Monday when new patrol officers were hired as part of a department expansion.
According to Capt. John Kraivec, officers Griffin Banos, Richard Livingston, Paul Pappas and Joseph Sudnick were hired as part of an expansion of the force, and to replace Officer Thomas Rudolph, who retired recently.
Capt. Kraivec said the additions bring the force’s number to 45 officers.
Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton said the council decided to create three new positions in the department during the budget approval process last spring.
Mr. Hamilton said the township has the lowest crime rate in Middlesex County, and that the Police Department has to grow in conjunction with the township in order to keep it that way.
Capt. Kraivec declined to discuss the four new patrol officers in detail, but said each was hired through the alternate-route hiring and training program.
Under the alternate-route program, aspiring police officers attend police academy on their own initiative and pay for it themselves. After completing training, they can seek work as fully trained officers.
Under the traditional route, Capt. Kraivec said, would-be officers undergo a lengthy testing and interviewing process before they are hired on a provisional basis. After completing training at a state police academy which is paid for by the department the new officers are sworn in and begin working.
The department hasn’t made a traditional-route hire in several years, according to the captain. He said many police departments have moved toward the alternate-route because it shifts the costs associated with police academy training currently $3,700 per trainee at the Somerset County Police Academy from the departments to the individuals.
The starting salary for a patrol officer in Monroe is $42,007, according the township treasurer’s office.