County officials celebrate training center expansion

BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

$1.5M project marks first renovation at 36-year-old

law enforcement facility If David B. Crabiel could see the newly expanded police training center, he would say: “The best police training center is in Middlesex County, the greatest county in the land.”

That’s according to Paulette Crabiel Wahler, daughter of the late director of the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Crabiel Wahler was on hand Sept. 10 as law enforcement officials from around the county and state came together to dedicate the newly expanded facility on Patrol Road. The building was dedicated in memory of Crabiel.

“This center is another example of how Middlesex County government serves its people and protects their safety,” said Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano. “My freeholder colleagues and I have a steadfast commitment to those we have been elected to serve. This commitment was long championed by my friend and predecessor, Dave Crabiel. It is with great honor that we dedicate this wonderful facility in his memory.”

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan noted that Crabiel was a big supporter of law enforcement.

“He was committed to helping the communities ensure that the residents were safe in their houses,” Kaplan said. He added that Crabiel was also committed to the police training center, which he described as a user-friendly facility where law enforcement officers can learn, share ideas and practice their profession in order to better protect the public.

The expansion marked the first renovation at the now 9,992-square-foot facility, originally built in 1974. The $1.5 million project doubled the classroom space and created a state-of-the-art building that can accommodate 150 people. The facility includes a computer lab, conference room, dining lounge and individual rooms that house driving simulation and firearms training systems.

Construction, funded in the county’s 2009 budget, started last November and was completed in May. The work included a newly designed exterior, and parking for an additional 60 vehicles.

Andrea Craparotta, training coordinator at the county facility and a lieutenant with the county prosecutor’s office, noted that approximately 2,800 officers used the training center in 2009. She said agencies from within and outside Middlesex County are able to train at the facility. In March, more than 500 police officers from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland were on hand for a seminar called “The Pain Behind the Badge.”

The facility, which serves as a satellite training center for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, also accommodates Middlesex County’s Clean Slate program for juvenile offenders and provides training space for the Auxiliary Police Academy.

“The center will be open 24/7, where officers can come and train in the middle of the night,” Craparotta said.

County Freeholder Mildred S. Scott, liaison to the Department of Law & Public Safety and retired chief of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department, said the expansion is dear to her heart.

“Not only as a fellow law enforcement official, but also I know it will be an asset to the county and local law enforcement agencies,” she said. “It will keep the agencies up to date on specific situations and provide specialized learning in the classroom.”

Metuchen Police Chief James Keane said the expanded training center is advantageous to his department and he is happy that it is “right in the borough’s backyard.”

“It is important for us to be well educated and keep up to date with all the changes in the laws,” he said.

Keane said the center allows officers in the county to train locally rather than travel to different locations for training.

“The police chiefs are involved in creating a curriculum for the center, and our officers will serve as instructors in specified areas,” he said. Monroe Township Police Chief John Kraivec, president of the Middlesex County Association of Chiefs of Police, said the expansion project has been a long journey for Middlesex County.

“This modern facility will assist law enforcement officers and provide a tool to accomplish our goals,” he said. “This comes at a time when our towns are working with fiscal restraints and departments are doing more with less. This provides the availability and ability for officers to receive the best police training.”