Defunding The Police Is Not An Option, Gloucester Council Says

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Part of the debate over the 9.75 percent tax rate increase in Gloucester Township during Monday night’s council centered around the budget for the police department. While some residents were critical of the police budget, council said defunding the police department is not an option.

On Monday night, Gloucester Township Council approved its proposed $67,176,117.22 budget, with a 6-1 vote. Residents had a range of questions, including some who were concerned about the budget for the police department, which amounted to $17,755,814.

They said some of that money should be redirected into community programs, echoing the mantra of “defund the police department” used by protesters after the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minnesota police officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck during an arrest.

The call is not necessarily about completely gutting police force budgets, although some activists and lawmakers have also raised the possibility of disbanding police departments altogether, complicating an already complex message.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza explained recently on NBC's "Meet the Press" that defunding the police is about putting more of a focus on other "resources" outside policing that are important to communities across the United States. Read more here: ‘Defund The Police’: 5 Things To Know About What It Means

“People feel safe here, but that’s not the same feeling everyone has in their own community,” Gloucester Township Council President Orlando Mercado said, saying that the dialogue had to continue after the country experienced an unacceptable amount of bigotry in the last few weeks.

He said the protesters in New Jersey and across the country have shown courage to stand up against the unfair treatment of African Americans. Gloucester Township hasn’t seen the same issues other parts of the country have, though, and it’s thanks in large part to the community relations effort put forth by the police department.

The Gloucester Township Police Department 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 court room 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.

In order to engage in all these programs, the police department needs resources from the township.

“We provide the police department with the tools they need to protect our residents,” Mercado said. “If we need to do more, they tell us. We have to have a lot of uncomfortable conversations, but we are not defunding our police department.”

On Tuesday, Gloucester Township Police Chief sent out a statement that included responses to frequently asked questions he’s received from the community in the past few days. The full Q&A can be found here.

“Our relations and service to all of our community members is the driving motivation behind everything that we do at the Gloucester Township Police Department,” Harkins said. “Every full time police officer from the Chief of Police to the newest Recruit Officer must attend a program called ‘Policing in a More Perfect Union’ which is held at the US Constitution Center in Philadelphia.”

This program is described from their website as follows: “The program is designed to give police officer recruits a historical understanding of the constitutional rights and restrictions that are defined in the Bill of Rights. Policing in a More Perfect Union also examines the history of policing in a democratic society, and provides a forum for new officers to discuss the importance of their role in protecting the rights of all citizens.”

“We will do whatever it takes to ensure that we eliminate the scourge of racism from our community,” Harkins said. “We will re-examine everything we do to make ourselves better, so we can be servant leaders who can heal the divisions in our community.”