A South Jersey police department is being forced to close due to a serve staff shortage.
On Thursday, Camden County Commissioners announced that the Woodlynne Police Department will disband this September and the Camden County Police Department will start policing the small municipality.
In a letter to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Edwin Ramos, the director of public safety for the borough wrote that by October the borough “will be operating with only a total of four officers to patrol, supervise and maintain training working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, leaving the police department unsustainable to provide police services for the residents, visitors and a safety issue for the officers who remain.”
Officials said the Commissioners will work with the Borough Council to ensure they have proper police coverage for the 2,900 residents of Woodlynne.
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“Ironically, this is why we originally formed the Camden County Police Department in 2013 because of the failure of the Collingswood PD and Woodlynne PD shared service agreement in 2009,” said Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr., liaison to the Camden County Police Department. “Today we have agreed to assist Woodlynne and support them in providing sustainable policing services that the taxpayers in the town deserve and ensure that we are providing a well-trained agency that is committed to building community and focused on engagement with residents.”
Chris Winters, president of the Camden County Association of Chiefs of Police said that the consolidation is the best choice to ensure safety within the community.
“The Camden County Association of Chiefs of Police has provided support and assistance to the Woodlynne Police Department over the years to create a viable law enforcement agency,” Winters said. “Nevertheless, with the significant shortage of manpower and the challenges that it presents to the community the best solution for sustainable law enforcement presence is for the consolidation of services with a neighboring law enforcement agency, in this situation the Camden County Police Department. As an association we are committed to providing Chief Rodriguez any support and assistance needed during the transition process.”
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