Report: Police force 'extremely deficient'
Helmetta mayor, chief agree dept. needs major improvement
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer
The Helmetta Police Department is deficient in key areas, including a lack of policies, training and supervision, according to a consultant's report.

Mayor Nancy Martin

Mayor Nancy Martin said she and the Borough Council were aware of some problems that existed in the police department, but they did not know the extent of those issues until the study was completed in recent weeks.

"The findings of the report were a big disappointment to the council members," Martin said. "We were unaware of how poorly the department was being run, but we intend to make improvements in that regard."

The Roberts Group LTD., of Watchung, which conducted the efficiency study, thanked Helmetta Police Chief Cully Lewis and the other officers. The small police force has three fulltime officers including the chief, and three part-time officers. These officers police a borough that is roughly 1 square mile in size with a population of approximately 2,000 people. The borough also receives police coverage from Jamesburg for a third of each day, through an interlocal agreement between the two boroughs.

The matter of what the borough should do about its police department became a point of contention among residents and police officers last year, with some raising objections to the idea that officials would dissolve the department altogether and have another town take over policing in the borough. The mayor and council stressed that would not be the case, and Martin said this week that she is not pursuing that idea.

"We are not discussing the possibility of dissolving the department, and although the state seems to be pushing for shared services, many times it is not cost-effective,"Martin said.

Instead, the governing body hired the private firm, made up of two retired police officers, to conduct a study of the department. The assessorswrote in their report thatHelmetta's police officers eagerly provided information and statistical data to them.

"It is without question that these officers are profoundly dedicated and eager to serve their community," the assessors wrote. "… The chief stated he knew that the department needed some type of change and he would do whatever was necessary to make the department better."

The assessors found that the problems facing the department are centered on a lack of policies, procedures, inspections and training.

"Early in our review process, it became clear to the assessors that the department is extremely deficient in several key areas that are vital to the success of any police organization," the assessors wrote. "Areas such as policies and procedures, supervision and training, to name a few, are basically nonexistent."

The assessors said the solutions to these problems are simple, though the process to correct them will be difficult and time-consuming.

"In order to accomplish this difficult project, the chief of police will have to undertake a largemajority of thework himself," the assessors wrote.

Lewis,who provides patrol coverage during his shift,will need to delegate some of the workload to the other officers, since he does not have the time to complete a project of this magnitude by himself, according to the report.

Lewis told Greater Media Newspapers that he is working toward addressing the issues raised in the study.

"It gives us a direction and areas we can look atwherewe can improve," Lewis said of the study. "We have already revised the reporting formofficers use and the report numbering system. We have already worked on signing officers up for additional training. I have reached out to other [police] departments to helpme outwith thewritten policy. There is no need to reinvent the wheel."

The work to be done involves a labor-intensive process,which Lewis said hewill address when he is not on patrol or when he is off duty. Delegating responsibility to the other officers is difficult, Lewis said, since he needs themon the road.

"I have been doing a lot of the stuff while I'moff duty," Lewis said.

The writers of the study also delved into the cluttered condition of police headquarters, which they described as small but operational for the current number of officers. They suggested that headquarters have an alarm system implemented, since it is not staffed 24 hours a day, and that a problem causing flooding in one of the rooms should be fixed.

"For a department of six officers, there is no reason that the police department should be in such a state of neglect," the assessors wrote. "This lack of concern about their facility can oftentimes be attributed to low morale among the officers."

The authors of the study recommended that the department establish an internal affairs function, and apply for Commission on Accreditation for LawEnforcementAgencies CALEA) accreditation, a move that Martin fully endorses.

"One of the biggest things thatwewill try to achieve is CALEA certification with the state," Martin said. "Being certified will ensure that we are following set standards, as well as making sure we are properly following those standards. We are fully expecting to eventually be CALEA-certified, but before we can apply,we need to put policies into place."

Policies for patrol officers performing traffic enforcement are also addressed in the study. The bulk of a patrolling officer's responsibility in Helmetta is enforcing traffic laws on the borough's 38 streets, none of which have traffic lights. Stop signs are the only traffic control devices on borough streets.

The assessors noted that there are no schools, banks, bus services or large shopping centers to impact police activity.

Police officers thought that they were being unfairly judged by the number of traffic tickets they issued, the assessors said. However, the Helmetta governing body did not suggest that a quota was not being met, they wrote.

Martin said she seconds the assessors' call for further training.

"Training is a huge issue for the mayor and council, and that is being addressed as we speak,"Martin said. "…It's going to be a long haul."

The problems did not occur overnight, but were instead institutionalized and passed down from police chief to police chief, according to the report.

"The assessors believe that given the right support, direction and guidance, the chief of police can incorporate the changes necessary to make the department function better."

Additionally, the scope of coverage provided by the Jamesburg Police Department on its midnight shifts in Helmetta needs to be clarified, the assessors said. If Helmetta contracts out the midnight tour again, thought should be given to using Spotswood rather than Jamesburg, they added.

Martin said, however, that Helmetta is not looking at having Spotswood do nightly patrols.

"Council has not discussed any options with Spotswood instead of Jamesburg,"Martin said. "We are focused on themuch-needed changes in our department for the two shifts we handle."

Martin said that the RobertsGroup did a thorough job in its research and writing of the study.

"We agree that there are many deficiencies in the department, and once the public safety committee became aware of the use of expired defibrillator pads, vehicle maintenance issues and possible training issues, it was recommended a study be performed," she said. "Wewere not aware of all of the deficiencies in the department until we received themanagement study."

While the study was initially estimated to cost $15,000, the time necessary to conduct it was greater than had been anticipated, and resulted in a total cost of $18,000.

"Fromthe findings of the study, it is going to be time well spent,"Martin said.

Lewis said he is conferring with theMiddlesex County Prosecutor's Office to find ways to fund additional training for officers.

"It's an ongoing process," Lewis said. "Everything we need to do is going to take some time, but as long as everybody works together, we can do this as quickly as possible. The key factor is going to be cooperation fromeverybody.

"I think we should be able to make very good strides by next year," Lewis said.