The head of the Keyport PBA has told the Borough Council that the lack of promotions and inadequate staffing within the Police Department are putting residents and officers at risk.
“The PBA has been standing idly by as the past few councils have torn down the Police Department, stripping it of positions and claiming that it was for budgetary reasons,” Patrolman Joseph Ruth, president of Keyport PBA 223, said at the Nov. 12 council meeting.
According to Ruth, the 16-officer department is the lowest administrative staff on record at the Police Department and has been doing “the same work with less people.” “This department has been working short for an extended period of time, and something needs to be done to fix it,” he said.
Ruth echoed criticisms voiced by Police Chief George Casaletto. The chief addressed the council on Oct. 21, saying that since the retirement of former Police Chief Thomas Mitchell in 2010, there has been a 53 percent reduction in the administrative division of the department.
Casaletto said the borough has “consistently abolished necessary administrative positions” within the department without his input.”
“With the increase in administrative work placed upon myself and others in the Police Department, I cannot ensure the continued safety of the community and run this department efficiently,” he said.
According to Casaletto, the caseload for the department’s two detectives is 470 cases as of September, while standards for caseload are for 145 cases per detective.
Both Casaletto and Ruth argue that increasing the staff back to operational numbers would better ensure the safety of the citizens and officers themselves, and would increase revenue for the borough.
At the Oct. 21 meeting, Casaletto said that when Mitchell was police chief, the additional manpower and equipment he had at his disposal helped to bring in more than $380,000 in revenue from the court system in 2008.
“When this department had 19 officers and appropriate hierarchy, it was never more productive and criminals did not want to come here,” Ruth said.
In his statement, he noted that restoring the administrative staff to full strength — 19 members — would allow the department to include the chief, captain and lieutenant positions, four road sergeants, a detective sergeant, two detectives and at least nine patrolmen. “People can think that nothing happens in this sleepy little town, but I can assure you that we deal with everything larger cities deal with, just not with the frequency that they do,” he said.
Councilwoman Joy-Michele Tomczak, who is police commissioner, responded that there have been ongoing discussions with the police committee and police chief about the structure of the department.
According to Tomczak, Casaletto has asked that the vacant sergeant position be staffed, a detective sergeant position be created and a promotion be made to detective.
Since the meeting, Detective Shannon Torres was promoted to sergeant, Casaletto said earlier this week.
Tomczak also noted that with the borough withdrawing from the joint municipal court, budgetary restrictions have been a big reason as to why things haven’t gotten done as fast as the department would like.
Casaletto, in his remarks to the council in late October, noted that his department was not involved in the decision to join Hazlet and Matawan in the joint court, and his recommendation to keep the municipal court in Keyport was not heeded.
While Tomczak agreed that the Police Department should have been included in the discussions on moving the court, she said it would be returning to Keyport next year, which would impact revenues.
Despite financial issues, there have been some improvements and additions that have been made to the department.
“We’ve hired four officers in the last two years,” Tomczak said. “We are in a tight budget — that’s the reality of it. We need to maintain the levels that we have and increase the levels that we have where we can afford it.
“Don’t ever think that the safety of the department and the safety of the residents haven’t been a concern.”
Councilman Warren Chamberlain said it is imperative to protect police officers, as well.
“They are our first defense to living in this town and we just have not done that,” he said.