The Lakewood Police Department will soon be hiring a new female police officer, Chief Rob Lawson confirms to TLS.
Stephanie Campbell has just began training at the Police Academy this week, and is expected to graduate in the Summer, the Chief says.
The officer will be joining approximately 20 other officers recently hired by the Department.
The recent surge in hiring, says the Chief, comes after a heavy retiring year, when many senior and experienced officers left after their 25-year career due to pension cuts.
In 2009, the Police Department had approximately 133 police officers. That number dropped to about 110 over the last two years when the senior officers retired. With the new hires, the police department was brought up to about 125.
The new hire “got us out of the red zone and critical level,” says Police Chief Rob Lawson. “It (the retiring) put a big drain on the department in terms of experience and knowledge.”
The Chief says the department was operating at critically-low levels, especially in comparison to the neighboring towns.
Toms River has approximately 160 police officers, and Brick also has more officers, despite a lower population, the Chief says.
“I’m grateful to the Township Committee,” the Chief said.
[TLS]
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Which Seminary did she go to?
What difference does it make she is female? Is she the most qualified? What would be more natural than this would be an article on the school district hiring a male as the new head school nurse. Crazy world!
Is she going to be the cook there or the nurse? I hope she won’t have to carry a gun, it’s not feminine or appropriate.
JT is 100% correct.
Your pretty small minded. Im sure you will be happy she’s there when you get robbed on a shabbos and she’s the first one there to make sure your families safe. Have a good day.
Why allow it to get to a critical low? Why not be a bit more proactive in recruiting to avoid this?
Hey Chacham….feel sorry for your wife that she has a husband like you!
@#5 its pretty much the tax payers decisions. The township puts forward a budget plan for the police department each year. When it gets rejected, which it does on occasion, the police department does not have enough money allocated to it to make new hires. Also, this Gov. of ours is trying to punish the public servants of this state with pension reforms which ultimately scared many senior officer’s away forcing them to retire to keep the money they rightfully earned over many decades of service. Put those two things together and the amount of police officers gets effected. Which in turn effects the way policing is done which ultimately effects public safety…