So What's New?

Forty years ago today, on July 13, 1969, protesters disrupted the American Medical Association's annual convention in Manhattan, demonstrating against the "unjustly high cost of medical care."

Questioning Priorities

It is no secret that states and cities nationwide are battling the financial demons.

Sarasota, Florida, a resort town more accurately described as a city, has a police department that has lost more than 10 per cent of its force in recent years, largely through attrition without new hires to take the place of those leaving. Fearing that further budget cuts will affect the department to an even greater degree, current and retired Sarasota police officers staged a protest in front of city hall on July 1st.

Sarasota’s city manager has proposed budget cuts in all city departments, including police. So the questions have been raised: Should budget cuts be across-the-board or targeted? Should a recreation department and a police department suffer equal cuts or be treated individually? Should a police department hire new officers, even in these tough times?

Sound familiar? It should. Questions similar to these are being asked in New Jersey, and all across the country. It remains to be seen which states, counties, and municipalities will hit upon the right combination of answers.

Hamster Crime

Recently, an officer in a jurisdiction not far from the home of The Badge Company responded to an evening report of someone trying to break the door to a hotel room.

Upon arrival at the scene, the officer found three people, one of whom claimed that her hamster had been stolen. Apparently, they were attempting to break into the room of the alleged hamster-napper, although they denied that they were trying to break in.

The officer retrieved the hamster, returned it to the 38-year-old owner, and elected not to charge anyone with anything.

Put your John Hancock on it

The 4th of July reminds us of many things, including John Hancock.

You are probably familiar with the phrase, to "put your John Hancock" on something. It means, of course, to put your signature on it, and it stems from the prominent signature of John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence.

Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, and the story goes that he signed his name very large on the center of the document, so that everyone else would have to sign around his name. It worked, because we all remember his name today, more than 225 years later.

In 1862, the John Hancock insurance company was chartered, and to this day the insurance company’s logo is a variation on the Declaration of Independence signature. Memorably, a few decades ago, the insurance company had an advertising jingle in which a choir of voices sang

Put your John Hancock
On a John Hancock
Life insurance
Policy

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/

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?

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.