Barnegat Police Change To 'Neighborhood Policing' Model

BARNEGAT, NJ — The Barnegat Police Department announced a new initiative: "neighborhood policing." The initiative is designed to enhance officers' connections with communities and will change Barnegat PD's patrolling model.

The agency set up nine Neighborhood Policing Zones (NPZs) and assigned specific officers to each zone. Those officers will work in their assigned NPZ on a regular basis, allowing residents and officers to know each other by name and work together to address issues impacting the neighborhood.

Barnegat police released a list of which officers are assigned to each street. Find who's assigned to your street here. Unlike the previous patrol district model, the officers will not rotate to different NPZs.

"Barnegat residents have made a significant investment in the Barnegat Police Department over the years," said Police Chief Keith Germain. "And while we're proud of the historic low crime rates we've achieved, we want to provide more value to the community."

Barnegat's crime rates have reduced by 75 percent since the 90s, according to the agency. Instead of sitting back and celebrating, Barnegat police said they wanted to improve communication and collaboration with the community.

"In the old days– before policing became so dependent upon the automobiles that put both a physical and psychological barrier between officers and the residents– residents knew who their police officers were," the announcement said. "They knew them by name. They were comfortable approaching them when there was a problem in their neighborhood."

"In turn, the officers knew the neighborhood. They knew the residents. They could identify isolated problems and solve them before they grew into larger, community-wide problems."

Continue calling 911 for emergencies. But Barnegat police encourage people to contact their respective officers for issues that don't require an immediate response.

Find more information here, including contact info for your street.

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