We pleaded with Jackson Township Council members in September 2011 and again on several occasions from 2011-14 to authorize our Jackson Police Department to seek accreditation, a trend that as many as 200 other municipalities in New Jersey have taken to ensure their police departments are compliant with the best practices in the state, which has proven to dramatically reduce costs.
Jackson Councilman Ken Bressi indicated that council members were looking into the matter each time we brought the issue up at council meetings, with the most memorable comment coming from Business Administrator Jose Torres, who said, “It makes the police departments smarter, but would cost many thousands of dollars to maintain.”
According to retired Lt. Col. Frank Rodgers of the New Jersey State Police, who through his company has assisted a majority of local police departments in the accreditation process, he “does not understand how a township today could go to court to defend a lawsuit without being accredited.” Lt. Col. Rodgers also mentioned that many municipalities are taking advantage of a $20,000 grant generated from our insurance carrier to help local police departments with the costs associated with the accreditation process.
His firm would charge Jackson $39,000, and he mentioned that the township would save an average of 5 to 8 percent on insurance premiums and experience more than a 30 percent reduction in lawsuits.
With two lawsuits settled recently for $1.4 million, it certainly seems like a nobrainer, especially considering that the majority of our neighbors have already done so, with Lakewood recently hiring the Rodgers Group to seek accreditation, leaving Jackson as the only municipality in the area that has not.
Raymond Cattonar
Jackson