Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has announced new measures to ensure police departments remain fully staffed in case a coronavirus outbreak sends police officers home or into quarantine.

 

In Monmouth and Ocean counties, although COVID-19 cases are high, they don’t compare to counties further north in New Jersey, such as Bergen. 

As officers come in contact with the virus, there will no doubt be more on the sidelines. Brick Police Chief Jim Riccio says their department remains in good health, but called the measures a smart move, as they've used them before. 

Here is the attorney general’s three-step plan:

1. Facilitating the hiring of retired officers as Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEO IIs).

2. Offering guidance through the Police Training Commission (PTC) for police departments to use recruits in more supporting roles.

3. Establishing training through the Division of Criminal Justice for military police and security personnel in the National Guard in case they are activated for law enforcement duties.

 

Law enforcement agencies can also use recruits who have not completed basic training in administrative roles, since New Jersey’s law enforcement academies have closed. The attorney general is recommending police departments expand the duties to which recruits are assigned.

Chief Riccio says departments relying on recruits to help full openings right now will have to wait, and praised the efforts by the attorney general. 

"It's a good move,” says Chief Riccio. “It's something similar we did during Sandy, even here in Brick Township. We brought some first responders in even on the volunteer basis to help us with day to day task things, like answering phones or clerical type work."

Lessons learned during Superstorm Sandy more than seven years ago are still in use today.