By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO — A police department that once patrolled a few hamlets, farmland and a few thousand people now watches over a thriving community of homes, businesses, and research institutions and a population of over 22,000.
That same Plainsboro Police Department celebrated its 30th anniversary last week, receiving a plaque from the Township Committee.
”The plaque was for our 30 years of hard work and dedication,” said Police Chief Elizabeth Bondurant, who has served the Plainsboro community for 25 years, and is now its third chief.
Like the township itself, the Plainsboro Police Department has drastically changed shape over the years, from its prehistory of constables and State Police, to its inception in the late 1970s, to becoming a full-service community police force it is in the 21st century.
Prior to its beginnings in 1978, the township was protected by a combination of coverage from the New Jersey State Police and from a few community constables, according to Chief Bondurant.
As Plainsboro’s longtime mayor, Peter Cantu remembers first moving to Plainsboro in the mid-1950s, in the days of the constables and the State Police.
”When I was 15, as a teenager, we had one person working as a part-time constable, and no sworn officers,” said Mayor Cantu. “It was a small town, I think there were around 1,200 people or so.”
With approvals for large-scale growth occurring during the 1970s, township officials realized the need for possibly establishing a full-time force of sworn officers for the expanding town, Mayor Cantu said.
An exploratory committee made the recommendation to create a police department in the late 1970s, and the township then moved to implement its findings.
The first police force was a part-time gig for the township government, with coverage provided by four officers, who worked from 8 a.m. to midnight, with the State Police once again taking over duties in the early morning hours.
The search for the man to lead Plainsboro’s new police force was exhaustive, according to Mayor Cantu, who said the township was inundated with applications from officers looking to make their presence felt in establishing a new law enforcement body.
”We decided to look at the decision very carefully, because the person chosen would be responsible for shaping the police force,” said Mayor Cantu.
An assessment and input from national police organizations was used to narrow the pool of candidates, until township officials were ready to make their decision, which ironically meant choosing an officer from a very close neighbor of Plainsboro.
Police Chief Clifford Maurer was chosen as the department’s first chief, after leaving the West Windsor Police Department as a sergeant to take over the newly created Plainsboro force.
”It was a great decision we made, and he did a great job,” Mayor Cantu said.
A short era of part-time policing in Plainsboro officially ended in mid-1979, with the hiring of an additional five officers — more than doubling the department’s original allotment — and allowing the department to become a full-time, 24-hour operation.
Today, a population that is more than four times the 1978 total is covered by a police force of 32-full time law enforcement officers plus other staff, led by Chief Bondurant. Chief Bondurant has served as the head of the department since taking the position last year.
The original force worked out of a small building near Wicoff Elementary School, which miraculously housed the police department, municipal court, and the township’s library.
With the growth of both the township and its need for services, law enforcement employees moved operations into a structure that resembled a barn, and then eventually into their current municipal complex, built in 1993.
From the headquarters at the municipal complex the police force runs its own daily operations, after once having shared dispatch service with the township’s neighbor, West Windsor Township.
Looking to the future, the department has fully embraced the ideas of community policing, establishing community police academies and several programs that allow township residents to work with their police force.
Residents interested in learning more about the police department’s programs can call (609) 799-2333, or go to http://www.plainsboronj.com/plainsboropolice/index.htm.
