Council Ruling Won't Rule Out Armored Car For Gloucester Twp. PD

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Gloucester Township Police Department’s participation in the federal government’s 1033 surplus program doesn’t necessarily mean it will obtain an armored military vehicle, Chief David Harkins said Monday night.

But if Gloucester Township Council didn’t approve the police department’s participation, it wouldn’t be able to get anything from the program at all.

Gloucester Township Council unanimously approved a resolution on Monday night that allows the police department to participate in the program, which makes excess equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense available to local police departments across the country for free.

A portion of the resolution says the police department can acquire items such as office supplies, furniture, computers, clothing, traffic equipment, and non-military vehicles.

However, it was another portion of the resolution that caught the eye of resident Paul Krug. This portion listed armored security vehicles, armored cars, light armored vehicles, mine resistant vehicles, security vehicles, armored trucks, cargo trucks, carryall trucks, panel trucks, stake trucks, utility trucks and off-road vehicles.

“I’m wondering why those would be necessary to have in our township,” Krug said during the township council meeting at the municipal complex.

“It gives us more options, the ability to have armored protection,” Harkins said, adding that all those vehicles are grouped together in the program. “That gives us the opportunity to obtain one where we think we can use it. Having armor is always a good thing for certain types of events. It gives us more capability, and we’re getting it for free.”

Gloucester Township police have an armored rescue vehicle currently. The Bearcat is used about 20-30 times a year, most recently in an incident in which a township man was throwing molotov cocktails at police. Read more here: Man Threw Knives, Molotov Cocktails At Gloucester Twp. Police: PD

Harkins said the vehicle kept the officers in that situation safe, but it only holds 10 officers. The Gloucester Township Police Department has 134 officers, and Harkins said it would be helpful to have more armored vehicles. In the incident involving the molotov cocktails, Harkins said there were officers in the rear of the home that weren’t protected.

Krug said he didn’t know about that incident, and that is concerning, but that part of the problems surrounding the public’s trust of the police department is the perceived militarization of police.

“I’m a little bit torn on this one,” Krug said. “With force exerted in that way, it kind of ups the ante with the citizens. I didn’t know there were molotov cocktails being thrown at them, but maybe there’s other procedural things police can do to ensure their safety in those types of situations without escalating with highly armored militaristic power behind it.”

“Just so we’re clear, (the resolution) allows us to look at the list,” Harkins said. “It doesn’t say we’re getting the vehicle. We also potentially could get vehicles our public works could use, we could get vehicles we could use during different events. By passing that resolution, we still have to go through different things. Our hope was to get a new LEAD vehicle out of it, we could paint it. Those are the types of vehicles that are on those lists.”

He said the police department renews their eligibility every year, but they haven’t acquired a vehicle recently.

“This just gives us the ability to look,” Harkins told council. “If you don’t pass that, we can’t even look.”

Community relations is often an area in which Gloucester Township police receive praise locally and in surrounding communities. It is praised across the country for its National Night Out events. National Night Out is an initiative in which people in towns across the country gather at their homes, on their streets and at their local community centers in recognition of their support of the community.

Gloucester Township police also participate in the national Coffee With a Cop program, host an end of the summer barbecue and have had special events in which they share ice cream with children in the community.

The Gloucester Township Police Department was also the driving force behind Project SAVE, in which low level drug offenders are connected with advocates in the courtroom to find the help they need rather than serve a long prison sentence. The program has been adopted across Camden County.

Following a drug bust in a development, the police department goes door-to-door to talk with the neighbors in the community. And after a shooting occurs in a neighborhood, police will engage the residents in that neighborhood.

Police also rely on residents to help them with their investigations. They are doing so through a new camera registry system and Neighbors by Ring.

See related: Gloucester Township Police Expanding Community Relations