Judge Blocks Public Vote on County Police Merger

Ruling allows freeholders to vote on disbanding the Bergen County Police Department.

A judge has blocked a non-binding referendum asking if the Bergen County police should be merged into the sheriff’s office, but allowed the freeholder board to move ahead with an ordinance to disband the county police, northjersey.com reported. Superior Court Judge Menelaos Toskos ruled Friday that the court could not move on an issue before it becomes an ordinance, the report said. While the merger question won’t appear on the ballot, the freeholders could vote at their Sept. 12 meeting to disband the county police department. County Executive Kathleen Donovan, a supporter of the county police, is all but certain to veto the move. The freeholders voted 4-2 in August to give voters a chance to weigh in on the proposed merger and passed an …

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County Police Officers Accused of Lying, Tampering with Crime Scene

Two county officers indicted Monday on official misconduct charges for alleged cover-up following six-town police chase.

Two Bergen County police officers were indicted Monday on charges they worked to hide evidence and lied to investigators following a six-town car chase where one officer allegedly opened fire on a burglary suspect in Bogota.  The seven count indictment alleges Bergen County Police Officer Saheed Baksh, 37, removed shell casings from a crime scene after he fired two shots at Francesco Piserchia, who authorities said led officers on a chase from Paramus to West Shore Avenue in Bogota.  Although Baksh fired, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said the casings "which were originally observed at the shooting scene on West Shore Avenue" later went missing.  Another county officer who responded, 52-year-old Jeffrey Roberts, failed to "…

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Freeholders Vote to Dissolve Bergen County Police

County official vows legal challenge as effort to disband police department moves forward.

The Bergen County Freeholders took the first steps Friday in disbanding the county’s police force and merging it with the sheriff’s office in a move that could be met with litigation from the county administration.   The freeholders voted to put a non-binding referendum on the November ballot asking the public’s opinion on having the sheriff's office absorb the county police department. In another move, the board voted to approve an ordinance dissolving the county police force. Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, an opponent of a merger and a referendum, would not enforce the ordinance and would likely challenge the moves in court.  “The county executive has said that she will not enforce this ordinance because this ordinance is …

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Senator Calls For Resignation Of Freeholder Who Skipped County Police Merger Meeting

Freeholders Rob Hermansen and Maura DeNicola purposely skipped meeting, report says

North Jersey Police Issue Hundreds Of Summonses For Not Buckling Up

Police around the area, including Bergen County, crack down over Memorial Day weekend.

Law enforcement officials issued more than 350 summonses to local drivers this weekend who were caught not wearing their seat belts. The summonses were issued as part of an initiative conducted by the Passaic County Aggressive Driving Task Force to promote safe driving during the Memorial Day weekend. The Bergen County Police Department was part of the enforcement effort.  The goal was to reduce motor vehicle crashes and fatalities and promote safety belt usage by travelers, especially passengers sitting in rear seats. The sweep coincided with the national Click It Or Ticket campaign. Les Goldstein, coordinator of the sweep with the Passaic County Office of Highway Traffic Safety, said in a statement that the use of safety belts remains …

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Donovan, Saudino Spar As Task Force Rejects Cutting County Police

Sheriff blasts County Exec's task force as "subterfuge" and asks issue be put on the ballot. Task force was commissioned to review a $600,000 study that recommended cutting or eliminating the county police.

Editor's Note: For more about this story, see Patch's in-depth look at the battle for the $22 million Bergen County police department. A task force commissioned by Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan has rejected a private consultant’s recommendation that the county’s police department be eliminated or downsized. Consultant Guidepost Solutions had completed a study last year, which was commissioned by the previous administration, detailing three scenarios where the county police would be eliminated, downsized or its operations transferred to the county sheriff. Tuesday’s report by Donovan’s Bergen County Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force, however, said increased retirements, the newly enacted 2 percent spending cap coupled with…

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The Fight Over The Future Of A $22 Million Police Department

Six months since a study recommended sweeping changes to Bergen County Police Department, none have come.

Note: This story was published on Dec. 4, 2011 Six months after a study called for sweeping changes to the Bergen County Police Department, none of the study's central recommendations have been implemented as the fight over the future of the agency continues, a fight that has seemingly chilled the relationship of two county leaders who were allies this time last year.  Bergen County officials are currently waiting for a second report on the county police that’s supposed to be completed early next year, this one by a committee created by County Executive Kathleen Donovan. Critics - most notably Sheriff Michael Saudino, who swept into office with Donovan last November - argue the panel is composed primarily of political appointees rather …

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Bergen County Authorities Launch 24-hour Joint Patrols of Religious Sites After Bias Attacks

County patrols will support local police efforts.

County police and sheriff’s officers have begun 24-hour joint patrols of religious sites across Bergen County in the wake of a string of bias attacks targeting the Jewish community, authorities said Friday. Marked units from the two departments are working in cooperation with local police to check ethnic community centers and religious sites from a range of faiths, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a statement.  “All community and religious centers will benefit from the strategy, including synagogues, mosques, churches and other houses of worship,” Molinelli said. Law enforcement officials and Jewish community leaders met Thursday in Paramus to discuss the rash of hate crimes. The attacks began in December when synagogues …

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From Alpine To Wyckoff, Police Manpower All Over The Map

Patch compiled its rankings by taking manpower numbers for municipal police departments and comparing them to census data.

In many ways, Alpine and South Hackensack have little in common. Rich with wooded hills and multimillion-dollar homes, Alpine has a per capita income in the six figures and often makes its way into the rankings of New Jersey’s best places to live. Meanwhile, South Hackensack’s main distinction is being New Jersey’s only town divided into three unconnected segments. Gritty and industrial, much of South Hackensack’s main residential area sits sandwiched between Routes 46 and 80. But their differences aside, Alpine and South Hackensack share a distinction. They stand at the top of Bergen County’s rankings in terms of having the most police officers per capita. Alpine has 7.98 officers per 1,000 residents, while South Hackensack’s rate is …

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publius

5:29 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011

just a thought, while I can make an argument for regionalization with the best of them; has anyone given a thought that while one may see a savings (I stress may) in their local tax, I bet there will be a corresponding increase in their county tax to cover the regionalized forces. NOt sure if this would happen but I'm thinking it would.   more ›