Secaucus Police Are Now Patrolling The Hackensack River

SECAUCUS, NJ — For the first time ever, Secaucus Police will begin monitoring the Hackensack River this summer.

The big news was announced this week by Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller, who revealed that the Secaucus Police Department now has a boat, pictured above, docked at the Coast Guard marina under the Rt. 3 bridge.

The boat is in the water and has already started preliminary patrols of the Hackensack. Those patrols will only increase in frequency after Memorial Day weekend and continue throughout the summer months, said Mayor Mike Gonnelli.

Gonnelli said he supports Chief Miller's expansion into river policing: "There is a lot of activity out there on the river. There are a lot of Jet Skiers speeding, just a lot going on," said the mayor.

Miller said he had the idea to launch the boat after seeing "an increase of watercraft on the Hackensack River."

The Secaucus Fire Dept. has long maintained a fire boat, and they have used it many times on the Hackensack, such as in May of 2020, when a woman took two children out in an inflatable kayak and it started sinking. Secaucus: Mother, Kids Rescued While Kayaking In Hackensack River

Oddly enough, there were two rescues on inflatable kayaks that summer: 2nd Inflatable Kayak Rescue In Hackensack River This Summer

Secaucus firefighters also responded when a 28-year-old Paterson man drove a motorcycle too fast over the Rt. 3 bridge and flipped off the bridge into the river below. He died, and Secaucus firefighters again used the boat to recover his body.

But the Secaucus Police boat will be different because it will have the power to actually pull over someone speeding or operating dangerously on the river; the fire boat has no law-enforcement power. So, a Jet Skier or a motorboat going too fast on the river can now be stopped and ticketed by Secaucus Police, said Chief Miller.

The 18-foot Boston Whaler will be primarily captained by Police Captain Scott Coar, but Gonnelli said many other SPD officers are getting their boating license and will be licensed to operate the boat, as well.

The boat was donated to the Secaucus Police Dept. by the Palisades Interstate Police Department and restored to its current condition. There was no cost to Secaucus taxpayers for the boat and there will be no extra cost to taxpayers to pay for the marine unit, said Gonnelli.

While the boat will not be on the water 24/7, it can be launched at any time, immediately, if there is an emergency. Additionally, the boat can patrol vital infrastructure assets along the river that may be a risk to terrorism, such as the large oil tanks in the marshes north of town and the Rt. 3 bridge itself, plus American Dream mega mall and Ferris wheel, both tourist attractions.

The U.S. Coast Guard has a station under the Rt. 3 bridge in Secaucus, but it does not patrol the river in town in a boat, said the mayor. The Coast Guard patrol of the Hackensack River stops at Newark.