Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A Cop Museum

Some things may not appear to lend themselves naturally to enshrine- ment in a museum, and police work might strike you as being one of those things. But the New Jersey State Police Museum will convince you otherwise.

A facility modest in size and scope, it is nonetheless impressive in its presentation of the history and artifacts of the New Jersey State Police. It’s worth a visit.

The New Jersey State Police Museum is located on the grounds of the State Police headquarters just north of Trenton, but it is not operated by the State Police. Rather, the museum was built and is managed and funded by the State Police Memorial Association. Learn more at http://www.njspmuseum.org/

Monday, June 15, 2009

Dancing With The Frogs

From the "Police Blotter" column in our local newspaper:

Dancing Frogs Statue Gone

Police are looking for a statue of two metal dancing frogs that a resident reported stolen from his yard. The owner said that the statue was taken some time over the winter and is tarnished green from the weather.

Green Frogs. Who would have guessed?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Stimulating the Police

The Star-Ledger reported recently that law enforcement agencies across New Jersey are slated to receive up to $47.7 million from the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Obama in February.

The newspaper noted that the funds are to be distributed through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant program. The monies awarded to an individual town are based on that town’s population and crime statistics. But first, each town must submit an application outlining how it plans to use the money.

Elizabeth mayor Christian Bollwage was quoted as saying that his city’s police department will use the monies to support officer overtime targeting specific criminal activities. Linden Police Chief Michael Boyle hopes to add more officers to his department, but Morristown Police Chief Pete Demnitz says that his town’s portion of the monies will not be sufficient to hire even one additional officer.

Still, hopes are high that these funds will allow departments to avoid layoffs if not to hire more officers. According to a spokesman for the New Jersey PBA, more than 300 officers have either lost a job or are facing the loss of a job this year alone. More recently, it has been reported that municipalities that are losing officers via retirement are not able to replace them.

Naturally, at The Badge Company of New Jersey we hope that officers are hired and that badges and equipment are purchased. That’s the whole point of the economic stimulus package, that monies spent in one location cascade through the economy. These grants to New Jersey law enforcement agencies are but a small example of how the monies are to be infused. Will it work? That remains to be seen. Fingers crossed. Toes too.