By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
A study that may help guide future staffing decisions in the Lawrence Township Police Department but that makes no immediate recommendation for changes was released to Township Council Tuesday night.
Township Council, along with nearly two dozen police officers in the audience, listened as Travis Miller of the Andover, Mass.-based Matrix Consulting Group outlined the report. The $37,500 study took six months to complete.
One of the key findings of the study, “which should not come as a surprise to anyone in this room,” Mr. Miller said, is that there is a high level of expectations for the department. The police officers go “above and beyond” what is expected of them in a typical suburban community, explaining to people what they are doing and why they are doing it, he said.
”The big question you posed to us is staffing,” said Mr. Miller. “By and large, the police department is staffed appropriately. This police department is focused on providing high quality, basic law enforcement.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Miller offered some suggestions for staffing changes. He recommended eliminating either the deputy chief’s position or the captain’s position through attrition to bring the police chief closer to the operation of the department.
There is one police chief, one deputy police chief, one captain, three lieutenants, nine sergeants and 39 patrolmen. The sergeants report to the lieutenants, who report to the captain, who in turn reports to the deputy police chief. The deputy police chief is responsible to the police chief.
Compared to neighboring police departments, only the South Brunswick Township Police Department has a police chief, a deputy police chief and two captains. But that department also has 95 police officers, compared to 78 in Lawrence.
Acknowledging the financial challenges facing municipal government, Mr. Miller suggested creating three additional sergeant positions to supplement the existing positions when the economy improves and there is enough funding.
One of the newly created sergeant positions would become the training officer, which is a responsibility held by the captain, he said. The other sergeants would be added to the patrol division to ensure there are always two sergeants assigned to each shift.
The consultant also recommended adding two civilian communications operators, or 911 dispatchers. There are eight dispatchers and the goal is to have two dispatchers on duty at all times.
Mr. Miller suggested hiring a civilian to hold the position of information technology officer for the police department. The post is currently filled by a police officer, but a civilian would be hired when the officer leaves the position.
After Mr. Miller completed outlining the report, Township Council agreed that it would be helpful in determining future staffing decisions. However, there are no plans to take immediate action on any of the recommendations, said Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun.
Police Chief Daniel Posluszny will review the study and its recommendations and report back to the council in September.
Councilman Bob Bostock said he suggested the study because he was concerned about the impact of the retirements of police officers as many as 12 in the next year.
”The study is very valuable to me to identify the challenges we face if the economic climate continues to be less than desirable,” said Mr. Bostock. “It (also) confirms that our police department is doing a very fine job for the community.”
Councilman Michael Powers said people choose to live in Lawrence because of the level of safety the Police Department provides.
