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Since the death of George Floyd and the world wide protests against police abuses there has been a clamor for reform.  Congress is at an impasse to enact legislation. Municipal officials, police supervisors, and people in the community have difficulty in coming to a consensus on how to change the structure, the practice and policies of policing and the culture. Much has been written about the Camden City police, its Use of Force polices and the creation of a new police department.

The City Police was replaced by a County Police Department.  In five years Camden went from being the most dangerous city in the country to a city where the police are respected and the rates of crime have dramatically dropped. They were rated number one in murders per capita and in the top five in other categories of major crimes. The murder rates have been reduced by 50%.  The homicide clearance rates went from 16% to 80%.   The Use of Force incident were reduced more than 90%.

The picture was bleak. No one thought that there was a way for meaningful police reform.  Because of bi-partisan State and County commitment to doing the right thing did creative things happen. The Camden City police is gone.  It was replaced by the Camden Metro Police under the control of the County and its Board of Chosen Freeholders, now to be known as the Chosen Board of County Commissioners. There were many who had their hand in the mixed but the two constants were Scott Thompson the Chief of Police and the Freeholder Director Louis Capelli, who is a partner of the law firm of Florio and Perrucci. The architect of the change was Lou Capelli and the construction manager was Chief Thomson.

The seed was planted by State Senator Donald Norcross, now a U.S. Congressman, when he mentioned the idea of a county police force to Mr. Capelli when he was trying to assist in the resolutions of disagreements between two small towns who had unsuccessfully merged their police forces.

New Jersey unlike other states has the ultimate control of all police departments although they are managed on a day to day basis by the local governments.  In 2008 the Chief of Police abruptly resigned.  Attorney General Anne Milgram appointed him Acting Chief.  Fortuitously it turned out to be an outstanding decision. Chief Thomson had a degree in history from Seaton Hall and a Masters in Sociology from Rutgers.  He grew up in a blue collar working class city next to Camden and has been a major force for positive change.

When Chris Christie became Governor the economic short falls were great which resulted in a reduction of funds for the Camden police.

The unimaginable problems facing the Camden police became worse. Governor Christie had a meeting with the Mayors of three major urban cities in the State. Lou Capelli was present. Governor Christie expressed his interest in the regionalization of police departments.  He pledged his support to any initiative

The thought of a County Police Department started to simmer with Mr.Capelli when it was mentioned by Donald Norcross and then percolated with the meeting with Governor Christie.

A task force was formed to discuss how something could be done. Meetings regarding the funding were had with the leadership of the State Legislature and the Governor. A consultant was engaged to create a structure for a County Police Department. The police budget for the Camden City police was $63,000,000.00 for 267 policemen who were finding ways to avoid patrolling the streets. For the same amount of money the County could have a force of 400 with a plan where two-thirds would be on patrol.

The Police union, the police and others were in vociferous opposition. The County solicited applications for a future County Police Department. Governor Christie waived the requirement of the civil service exam because of the burdens it placed in hiring applicants who lived in Camden. The civil service exams have been alleged to have a disparate impact on minorities in competing with others for a job. In order that the application process be protected from being inappropriately influenced Lou Capelli and the Freeholder Board created a screening and hiring committee made up of retired Superior Court Judges and retired police command officers.

On May 1, 2013 the Camden Police Department was dissolved and the Camden Metro Police began. Scott Thompson was hired as the Chief. Many of the Camden officers applied and were hired. Others didn't apply or were not hired.

The slate was clean to set in motion new practices. Scott Thomson was an innovative police chief. The Chief went to work to get the support of the community. Foot and bike patrols were initiated. Police would knock on the doors of residents and store keepers and give out their business cards. Two ice cream trucks were sent in to the neighborhood to give out ice cream. There were pop up barbeques by the police.  The Chief went to town meetings and gave out his personal cell phone number and told the people to call if they had any problems.

The police and the community interacted and gained mutual trust. During the recent protests after George Floyd's death the police marched with members of the community who they knew and had engaged with.

A new Use of Force Policy was written with the aid of a national recognized expert in police training, the ACLU and members of the community that included residents, business owners, civic leaders and clergymen.  Many of their recommendations were incorporated.  Laws, rules and written policies are meaningless unless the requirements are adhered to.  The purpose of the new policy was to insure that officers had respect for the sanctity of life when making decisions regarding the Use of Force.  Officers are required to attempt to de-escalate confrontations with the goal of resolving encounters without force.  The amount of force must be proportionate to the circumstance.  Officers have a duty to stop and report inappropriate Use of Force by other officers.  In Camden every time there is any use of force by a police officer there must be a meeting and review with a supervisor within a day.

Scott Thomson served twenty five years as a Camden police officer. He is now retired to head security in a major company. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading policing experts.  His Assistant Chief Joseph Wysocki is now Chief. He is capably following in the footsteps of his former boss.   Lou Capelli continues as the Director of the Board of County Commissioners and is the Liaison to the Department. The job is not done but it is on the right direction.

There was no partisan politics.  The culture of the police and the community's view of the police is changing.  When public officials, politicians and police from the right and the left work together for the public good positive things can happen.

New Jersey should be proud of what has taken place in Camden.