LPD Hires 3 New Police Officers – More To Be Hired Soon

FIRST REPORT: There are three new Police Officers on the Lakewood streets this week and more to come in the near future Police Chief Rob Lawson confirmed to TLS. The new officers, Officer Creg Fink, Officer Jeremy Felder (pictured) and Officer Mike Cavallo, were hired several days ago as the department attempts to fill the positions vacated by the retired officers.

Two of the officers, Felder and Cavallo, are both lateral transfers from the Jackson Police Department, Lawson tells TLS. They both served with the Jackson PD for three years. Despite taking a pay cut, the officers reportedly requested to be transferred to the Lakewood Police Department due to the instability in the Jackson Police Department as the force was threatened to be cut due to the troubled economy.

The other Officer, Officer Creg Fink, from Lakewood, was hired from the RICE list and was previously an officer in Neptune, NJ. Fink served as an officer for about 6 years.

“I’m very enthusiastic and optimistic  about these officers coming to Lakewood”, Police Chief Rob Lawson says.

A fourth officer was already hired by the Department, and will be beginning the Academy tomorrow. The officer, Charles Messer – a brother to LPD Officer Chase Messer – will not hit the streets until approximately next Summer.

In June, the Committee passed a budget which allocated $100,000 for new Police Officers, which would cover the salaries for the remainder of the year, and include fees for testing, screening and purchasing police equipment for the officers. The starting salary for an officer says Lawson is about $35,000 for the year, and hiring 6 officers for a 1/3 of the year would amount to about $70,000.

Hiring officers off a RICE list, saves a substantial amount of tax payer money Chief Lawson says, as the officers are already trained by the P.T.C., the Police Training Commission, and only require in-house training before getting them on the roads.

Chief Lawson says the new officers met with Hatzolah, Chaveirim and other organizations as well as a representative of the Latino community to familiarize the officers with the many sectors Lakewood is made up of, and a way to bring an element of sensitivity to the various groups.

Lakewood, with a population of 92,843 according to the recent census, has a current police force of about 115 officers, a ratio of 1 officer per 807 residents. At least a dozen high ranking officials have retired from the force over the last two years. At least 3 others have left the force due to injuries sustained while on duty.

The Department hopes to hire at least another 2-3 officers by next month. TLS.

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32 COMMENTS

  15. Hey #8 nothin like that lol! just Mr. Conservative always has something to say bout these stuff, his comments are….. interesting! lol! How come he doesnt post anymore?!

  17. NUMBER #4 & #15 (YOU GOT IT):

    “Chief Lawson says the new officers met with Hatzolah, Chaveirim and other organizations as well as a representative of the Latino community to familiarize the officers with the many sectors Lakewood is made up of, and a way to bring an element of sensitivity to the various groups.”

    -all this sensitivity in a town that has such a HUGE gang problem.

  18. Anonymous says:
    September 7, 2011 at 2:26 pm

    are they from lakewood? were they properly trained regarding the unique cultures in lakewood?
    =========================================
    are your rabbis and clergymen properly trained how to deal with our culture?

  22. just because an officer’s name is craig fink doesn’t mean he’s jewish. and it doesn’t matter what religion an officer follows. the main thing is that they’re good people who protect our town and people against the bad. i respect all officers and am very happy to hear about new officers joining the team.

  23. They were already trained in the Police Academy. Race or religion do not make a difference. Unless someone is looking for preferential treatment. The law is the law for everyone with no bearing on race, religion or gender.

  26. Their salary doesn’t go up to 85,000 after a year look at public records and you will see other officers that have been in the force for many years 8 plus and just making that know before you speak

  28. to #18 did you read the article, I don’t think you did, Creg Fink is from lakewood, and Chase Messer used to be from lakewood, he went to school here and graduated from Lakewood High

  32. So does that mean that a Jewish cop cannot work during Shabbos or any one of the many, many Jewish holidays, observances? Does that put a strain on the non-Jewish cops to pick up the slack? If we have Jewish cops will we have an effective police force? Just wondering and since in Israel they have police, there must be a solution. The day will come when the Jews of Lakewood will have to have to step up to the plate because there will be no more non-jews in Lakewood.

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