Politics & Government

West Deptford Commitee Intros Changes in Police Protocols

The township committee introduced a trio of policing-related ordinances at its July 11 meeting; all passed unanimously.

Who says there's no common ground to be found at the West Deptford committee meetings?

As uncommon as it has been lately to see unanimous action at the local government meetings, party lines did not come into play at the July 11 meeting, when officials passed unanimously the first readings of three ordinances related to the West Deptford police department.

The first piece of legislation would eliminate a written examination that had formerly been required of candidates applying for a promotion to lieutenant within the force. 

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Instead, that examination will be administered orally, just as those for the sergeant and corporal grades are delivered.

The move was made to "create uniformity with the other testing procedures" within the department, said West Deptford Police Chief Craig Mangano. It could also save the township as much as $2,000, the approximate cost of a written test.

Find out what's happening in West Deptfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A second resolution that Mangano also said reflected a necessary bit of housekeeping is related to the department's handling of the findings of internal affairs investigations.

The change will return those findings "to our standard operating procedure, which is in line with [New Jersey] attorney general guidelines," Mangano said. 

Finally, the committee also introduced a memorandum of understanding with the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles to put a West Deptford police officer on permanent detail at its Crown Point Road office.

"As a result, the township is reimbursed at $98,290 annually,” West Deptford Mayor Ray Chintall said at the July 11 meeting.

All three ordinances will be up for a second reading at the July 25 meeting of the West Deptford township committee, where they are expected to be approved.


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