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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There will be fewer cops patrolling the streets of Camden, N.J., come Tuesday.
Struggling to close a $26.5 million budget gap, the city with the second highest crime rate in the nation is laying off 163 police officers. That's nearly 44% of the force.
And Camden will also lose 60 of its 215 firefighters. Some people with desk jobs will be demoted and reassigned to the streets.
The mayor's office says that the cuts will not affect public safety.
"We're still going to protect our residents," said Robert Corrales, spokesman for Mayor Dana Redd. Public safety "will remain our top concern. We'll shift our resources to be more efficient with what we have."
But police and firefighter union officials say the layoffs will most certainly have an impact.
"It's absolutely physically impossible to cover the same amount of ground in the same amount of time with less people," said John Williamson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police union in Camden. "Response times will be slower."
Even if it takes only a few minutes longer to respond, it could mean the difference between life and death or between catching the bad guy or the bad guy getting away, he said.
And if the city had a major fire, it could tie up all its resources, said Al Ashley, president of Fire Officers Local 2578 in Camden. It would be forced to rely on its suburban neighbors for help.
Camden is far from the only city to slash its public safety budget, though its cuts may be among the deepest. Newark, N.J., shed 167 officers in late November, leaving 1,133 on the force.
Some 25% of cities said they were cutting their public safety budgets in 2010 to deal with shortfalls, up from 14% a year earlier, according to an October survey by the National League of Cities.
Seeing what happened in the months after Newark's layoffs, I expect Camden's crime rate to rise significantly as well. For them to say it won't public safety is pure hogwash.
Its obvious though that the recent surges and buildups in police force over the past 5-10 yrs or so are most likely due to state funding that past governors and administrations approved just merely throwing money at the problems. While more police is supposed to reduce overall crime it will still never solve the root of the problem.
The State seems to be absent except for a few small plans for these cities....Christie should focus on developing a long term plan.
When did it become the state's responsibility to make sure the city provided adequate police officers? Maybe the fed should get involved too- maybe they can send a few Marine platoons in there for a while.....
It's a knee jerk scare tactic..towns are struggling with reduced funding.
There are many other non essential areas and the fat at the top they can cut but when they mess with public safety they are doing exactly what they planned out...scare the hell out of the public..thinking if we yell loud enough Trenton will hear us and give them more money to squander
It's a knee jerk scare tactic..towns are struggling with reduced funding.
There are many other non essential areas and the fat at the top they can cut but when they mess with public safety they are doing exactly what they planned out...scare the hell out of the public..thinking if we yell loud enough Trenton will hear us and give them more money to squander
yeah, they will never cut the way you want them to cut because they are corrupt politicians making the decisions. best thing to do is just knock down their budgets to as little as you can. government doesnt provide us with anything we cant handle on our own.
I think it's ridiculous to cut police in places like Camden where they are so needed. Why don't they cut them in places like Cedar Grove, where there is little crime anyway. I always see many CG cops on Pompton Avenue, busily giving out tickets for someone going 1 mile over the speed limit. They even make up stuff so that they can stop people! I read somewhere that the average police officer salary in Cedar Grove is over $60,000! For mostly doing nothing!
I would have no problem with that salary for cops in towns like Camden, Irvington, and Newark who face terrible crime and the effects of poverty every day. They earn it. They really put their lives on the line every day.
I know what you'll say: each town has their own budget. So if a place like Cedar Grove has excess funds, give it to a poor town!
The sad thing is that the vast majority of people in the poor towns are hard-working people, not criminals, and they are the ones who will really suffer the consequences of these cuts.
I think it's ridiculous to cut police in places like Camden where they are so needed. Why don't they cut them in places like Cedar Grove, where there is little crime anyway. I always see many CG cops on Pompton Avenue, busily giving out tickets for someone going 1 mile over the speed limit. They even make up stuff so that they can stop people! I read somewhere that the average police officer salary in Cedar Grove is over $60,000! For mostly doing nothing!
I would have no problem with that salary for cops in towns like Camden, Irvington, and Newark who face terrible crime and the effects of poverty every day. They earn it. They really put their lives on the line every day.
I know what you'll say: each town has their own budget. So if a place like Cedar Grove has excess funds, give it to a poor town!
The sad thing is that the vast majority of people in the poor towns are hard-working people, not criminals, and they are the ones who will really suffer the consequences of these cuts.
Or you know, lower the taxes in those towns. Crazy idea, I know.
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