First it was Camden and Newark and now Paterson is next on the chopping block. Pink slips went out this week and come April 1st, the city will lose about 1/3 of its police force to layoffs. Some in this community who have seen elevated crime in recent years are concerned the cuts will only make things worse.
According to CBS New York shooting deaths were up a whopping 38{74bbbd36a4df8b83bd1805c8c4f34bcc3063e84848f392c2fd8bb03fcdaa883e} last year alone.
Mayor Jeffrey Jones blames the local union, stating they have refused to grant concessions. The union, however, denies this stating they have come up with $4 million in savings but want a guarantee against layoffs in return.
“We’re talking about everyone just giving in something,” said Jones. “It’s not a question of political positioning, not a question of contract breaking. This is a question of we don’t have the money.” Jones himself states he has been participating in voluntary furlough since the beginning of 2011, giving up a day of pay every pay period.
Just last month neighboring Camden lost about 167 cops to the same sort of budgetary problems and the inability to get concessions from the union. Newark was in the same situation, laying off a similar 162 cops in recent months.
The problem isn’t unique to New Jersey—it’s being seen across the country. But while some areas are experiencing drops in their crime rates, some Jersey areas haven’t been so lucky.
It seems article after article finds Jerseyans who are frightened by what the police shortages might mean for crime in their neighborhoods though a recent poll reveals most are unconcerned or at least not any more worried about crime than they were before.
According to the poll conducted by Monmouth University and Gannett New Jersey Press Media, 69{74bbbd36a4df8b83bd1805c8c4f34bcc3063e84848f392c2fd8bb03fcdaa883e} of those surveyed feel budget cuts have had no significant impact on safety in their area, though 32{74bbbd36a4df8b83bd1805c8c4f34bcc3063e84848f392c2fd8bb03fcdaa883e} of urban residents specifically believe they have had a negative impact.
One potential solution has been to combine forces into county-wide departments. Most of those surveyed feel this is a bad idea, with 52{74bbbd36a4df8b83bd1805c8c4f34bcc3063e84848f392c2fd8bb03fcdaa883e} opposing it despite a similar 52{74bbbd36a4df8b83bd1805c8c4f34bcc3063e84848f392c2fd8bb03fcdaa883e} stating it would lead to some taxpayer savings.
When it comes to the role crime plays in their daily life, about 40{74bbbd36a4df8b83bd1805c8c4f34bcc3063e84848f392c2fd8bb03fcdaa883e} state crime is a problem in their neighborhoods. Of course this number is higher in urban neighborhoods, though overall it’s a decrease in the number who responded similarly to the same question in the 1980s and early 1990s.
People want to feel secure in their neighborhoods and homes. There’s no way of knowing how all of the layoffs will affect public safety until it’s all said and done. Will incidents of criminal offenses go up? In another year or so perhaps we will get a better picture of whether they had a significant negative impact or whether they weren’t newsworthy after all.