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.
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. 
