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“We expect the county police to be better than anybody else,” Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan (above) says in the video, “and they are.”
This comes as county freeholders are set to fold the department into the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office at a public meeting this Wednesday — a move expected to ignite a court battle by Donovan once the freeholders override her promised veto of the ordinance.
The nearly 5-minute video — produced by a Washington, D.C.-based company called “Web’s Edge,” in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police — features clips of the county police department’s various units in action.
“BCPD,” which premiered last week, also has interviews with County Police Chief Brian Higgins and new Bergen Community College President Kaye Walter, among others.
To view the video, click the link and use the password “websedge“: BCPD video
The Bergen County Police Department provides “one-stop shopping” of services for local police departments, Higgins (above) says in the video. That includes a bomb squad, SWAT team, K9 unit, water recovery squad and other teams.
The BCPD is a presence at BCC (still image from video / Courtesy IACP, Web’s Edge)
“County police have always been there for us, whether we need one unit or many units,” Cliffside Park Police Chief Donald Keane says.
Donovan notes that the BCPD water rescue unit was key in helping save those stranded by floodwaters during Hurricane Sandy.
County police also have a shared services agreement with BCC, which Walter said she believes gives the school “the safest campus in the entire state, and maybe the nation.”
The BCPD is also the first responding agency for the county’s technical and vocational schools, Higgins says.
“We’re probably the only agency that’s handling, on a regular basis, large-scale events,” he adds. That includes large concerts in Overpeck Park, as well as carnivals and other events throughout the county.
“The Bergen County Police Department is absolutely vital to all of our safety,” Donovan says.
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