BERKELEY – The Township Police Department was awarded funding in the amount of $1.25 million which will allow the hiring of ten new police officers.
The funding comes from the United States Department of Justice through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Cops Hiring Program (CHP).
“We have aggressively pursued this funding to help strengthen our police department without impacting local taxpayers. With upcoming retirements and a growing population, the $1.2 million in funding couldn’t come at a better time,” said Mayor Carmen Amato.
Berkeley officials said they worked with their grant writers at Bruno Associates, Inc. to secure the competitive grant. It is designed to provide direct funding for the hiring of career law enforcement.
They are expected to be hired and integrated into the township police over the next two years. The money will offset the salary for new officers for their first three years, officials said. On the fourth year, the township will take on the full cost of the new recruits.
The new officers will specifically bolster the Berkeley Police Department’s community policing efforts and will also focus on combating effects of the opioid epidemic.
“The Council and I would like to thank Bruno Associates, Administrator John Camera, CFO Fred Ebenau and Lt. Ryan Roth for working together on the successful application. Chief DiMichele and I look forward to hiring these additional officers over the next two years,” Amato said.
“The Department of Justice is committed to providing the police chiefs and sheriffs of our great nation with needed resources, tools, and support,” Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement announcing the aid. “The funding announced today will bolster their ranks and contribute to expanding community policing efforts nationwide. A law enforcement agency’s most valuable assets are the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in the name of protecting and serving their communities.”
