Jersey Shore Business Journal

May 21, 2008

New police chief talks about community policing

Proudly pinning the esteemed badge on his son’s lapel, retired Pennsauken law enforcement officer Joe Callahan couldn’t have been more pleased. The oath administered, Chad Callahan is officially Ocean City’s new police chief.
A 14-year veteran of the department, Callahan moved very quickly through the ranks. Surrounded by dedicated professionals, the married father of two is a young, enthusiastic and very capable leader. Callahan is precisely what the department – and the community - needs at this critical time, a breath of fresh air.
The event was more than just the ceremonious swearing in of a new chief and promotion of five officers. Like the tide crashing below at the historic Music Pier, it was a sea change. Ushering in a new era and a younger generation, it signaled a new way of doing business in tough times; the return of time-honored, old-fashioned simplicity.
Community policing is making a big-time comeback. We have good news for a change; expect to see more officers biking around town, in the schools, at civic organization meetings or walking the beat.
“Our primary mission is to establish a good line of communication, to head off little issues before they become big issues,” Callahan said. “We want to be out in the community. We are not re-inventing the wheel. Everyone in this department understands; it’s very simple. You go out, be accessible, understand the community’s needs, try to help people. It’s all about quality of life.
“We have limited manpower, it is going to be a challenge, but the officers we have will be out there, visible,” he said. “We want to head off issues rather than let them fester.”
Callahan spoke of the “awesome responsibility” before him while promising to be the ultimate role model for the department and the community.
With a state-mandated budget cap and fiscal watchdogs biting at their heels, it’s been a tough year for the OCPD. Continually being asked to do more with less by everyone from city council to Fairness in Taxes (FIT), they’re expected to maintain historic high standards while simultaneously watching manpower drop from 64 to 59, which with illness and injuries, rests at 56. With a team of specially trained summer officers, the department will be 105 strong this summer to manage well over 150,000 people on many weekends.
Meanwhile, if all pans out and this is the “only a gas tank away” banner summer everyone’s predicting, we’ll be greeting record numbers of visitors. Somebody has to keep order in town, prevent chaos and we all turn to our public safety officials in times of need.
Last Monday a one-day “hurricane” tore up the coast, flooded streets and cut power. The OCPD handled 1,170 calls, 123 of them 911. Like the fire department, they operate 24/7, 365 days a year and they were out there, directing traffic, saving lives and preventing catastrophe while enduring 78 mph gusts of wind.
Yet for all their effort, working hard to provide a clean, safe town, the proud men and women in blue are continually disparaged and demeaned. The latest comes from Councilman Roy Wagner, who, after suggesting that allowing firefighters to participate in a response time survey was like “allowing the fox to guard the henhouse,” commented in the Gazette, “In the summertime, even with rent-a-cops, we have …”
Rent-a-cops? The newly re-elected councilman handily won the fourth ward; you have to wonder whether this is one man’s misguided thinking, overlooked by the masses, or sadly, whether a large contingent of the citizenry shares this shameful view.
Gary Schaffer, director of training for the Cape May County Police Academy, eloquently upbraided Mr. Wagner’s inappropriate and unprofessional remarks in the Gazette last week. The department is perhaps misunderstood. With community policing, that is about to change.
“This is an education process,” said Callahan. “We want to make sure people understand our operations, the police cars, when its time to buy new, how we work, how we allocate our resources, rotate our equipment. We want them to see and understand the Mobile Data Computers.”
Callahan encourages city council members to come in, “see what we’re about.”
“Obviously fire and police have taken a lot of heat in the budget and I don’t see that stopping. As John Murphy said, we have targets on our backs. I want to turn this to a positive.”
Callahan increased community policing from three to five bike officers. While the obvious symbol of community policing is the bicycle, the “bike cop” philosophy is much more.
“It’s not just five guys on bikes,” said Lt. Steve Ang. “We have 59 officers who believe in this. The entire department is going to be more community friendly, address the quality of life issues head-on. When something serious happens, we’re trained to handle it. But mostly we deal with everyday issues important to citizens, playing loud music, underage drinking, or walking a dog on a lawn. We’ve had problems with drug sales on corners, community policing got rid of that.
“Community policing is identifying needs and solving problems,” he said.
Ocean City relied on community policing until 9/11 when homeland security needs did away with the funding. By reorganizing the department, Callahan made it a priority, putting Ang in charge.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this,” he said. “Wherever I went over the past few years, people were always asking me, where are the bike cops? The more visible we are, the better we are. Visible means approachable. People will not easily stop a patrol car cruising down the street with the windows closed, but a cop on a bike, they’ll stop. Working together we can solve problems.
“The department lost its focus, its involvement with the community,” said Ang. “People couldn’t relate. They only saw us in a bad light, an officer writing a ticket, at a time of tragedy. Community policing reverses that.”
Ang said police would be “fire and brimstone,” pro-active.
“I’m energetic and enthusiastic; I want people to express their concerns,” he said. “I want people to invite us to civic meetings. One person asked me what I was going to do about trash cans blowing around; it’s quality of life issues for our residents. We want to hear from people, I love going out and meeting people. I love Ocean City. I enjoy solving problems.”
Callahan said the department divides the city into sectors, north, south and central. There is always an officer in each sector.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Everyone thinks that nothing happens in the winter. We’re busy; we have a lot of second homeowners. We have to schedule mandated firearms training and vacations. The city does a great job of promoting the town, we have a lot of events right through the New Year. It’s difficult to do it with less.”
Callahan assigned patrolmen Chuck Cusack and Tyrone Rolls to join Sgt. Dave Hall, Pat Randles and Bobby Reichanek on the bike patrol.
“Chuck is a 22-year veteran; Tyrone has been here for 12 years. These are home-grown guys, we’re going to build it back up to where it was,” he said. “These guys were all chosen for a reason, they can supervise themselves, they’re proactive and they set the standard. They’re respected in the community.
“People are asking me how everything is going,” said Callahan. “I tell everyone I’m excited. Who wouldn’t be? We have a great police department, dedicated, smart individuals. We’re going to do the very best we can with less. If I need more manpower, I’m going to make a recommendation to the city administration. We have a busy summer; we’ll see how it goes.”
With the infamous “senior weeks” on the menu in the coming weeks, Callahan said the department was taking a zero tolerance policy, community policing at its best.
“It causes such a headache, right through the summer,” he said. “It’s huge for some of our residents. We’ve really taken some pro-active measures to curtail some of the underage drinking. We’ve put an added team on our noise and alcohol unit, for a total of eight walking posts. We’re going to patrol from Seventh through Tenth Streets in the problem areas.
“We’re putting the owners of the problem properties on notice,” he said. “We went out and made contact. If they rent and there is a problem they could be held liable. We don’t want to scare anyone off, but we are taking this seriously. It’s quality of life. We don’t want anyone to put up with anything that could ruin their summer.”
The onus will be on the violator.
“It’s a $175 fine and you have to face Judge Russell and explain it to him,” he said. “We want to be available to the neighbors who are affected, if you see a bunch of kids unloading kegs, call us. Sometimes the neighbors see more than we do. We want to put the kibosh on it before it gets started. If we show up and bust a party, we’re there for two or three hours. We would much rather stop it before it starts.
“We’re cognizant that this is not all of the kids, but some are ruining it for others,” he said. “The majority of kids are great, but some forget their brains at home. We’re going to have weekend patrols and remind them that they can’t behave that way in Ocean City.”
Callahan said he is particularly anxious to get back into the schools.
“We’re having conversations with the administrators,” he said. “I’m excited to see more involvement.”
Reverting back to what works, Callahan says DARE, an anti-drug program aimed at 5th and 6th graders may make a comeback.
“There are different alternatives, initiatives like DARE that include stranger safety, gun safety and an anti-drug message,” he said. “DARE was a great program, I still see some of the kids that I taught years ago and they remember. It’s definitely going to be explored.”
The police department will pose for an all-inclusive photo on Wednesday night; it will be the first time in more than 34 years.
“We’re going to have a big barbeque, we’re going to have a carwash,” Callahan said. “I want to do everything I can to bring us together as a department. I want to build from within, establish morale. We’re really going all out, full court press to establish relationships with the community.”
With positive, refreshing news like this, we all should be. Is this great or what?

Ann Richardson can be e-mailed at annrichardson@catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.