Woodbridge Set Up Haircuts For Police Outside HQ During Lockdown

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — While the rest of New Jersey became increasingly ungroomed throughout March, April and May, the men and women of the Woodbridge police department were receiving regular haircuts and shaves from a local barber. The haircuts were given outside Woodbridge police headquarters.

It remains unknown if Woodbridge police will get any reprimands from the New Jersey Attorney General, as Gov. Phil Murphy has ordered all barbershops and salons shut down since March 19; they are allowed to reopen next Monday, June 22.

Like many police departments in the U.S., Woodbridge police officers must adhere to personal grooming regulations, which do not allow for beards or hair growth beyond a certain length.

Earlier this spring, an unnamed barber contacted the Woodbridge police department and volunteered his services to cut the officers' hair, according to Woodbridge town spokesman John Hagerty.

Woodbridge paid the barber $1,605 to give the haircuts. That money came out of the police department's budget, which allows for payments for uniforms and personal items for officers, he said.

And so all throughout this spring, members of the Woodbridge police, and some civilian employees, received haircuts. The haircuts were given at the rear entrance of police headquarters, in the covered parking garage area, according to Hagerty.

Hagerty said Woodbridge was operating under the approval of the town health department.

"The Woodbridge police did not solicit the barber for services," he said. "Health authorities were consulted and advised that haircuts outside the confines of the building and with implementing proper PPE standards (masks, visors and gloves and adhering to social distance as best as possible)."

NJ.com/NJ Advance Media first reported this story this afternoon, and they reported that the barber came for a total of six visits.

According to Hagerty, after the NJ.com story was published Tuesday, a Woodbridge business owner contacted the police and offered the $1,605 for the haircuts, as a donation to the Woodbridge police department.

Hagerty said the business owner wishes to remain anonymous at this time.

The New Jersey Attorney General referred Patch to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office when asked about this.