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PUBLIC SAFETY: Nearly 100 members of New Jersey law enforcement met with dozens of faith-based community leaders yesterday at the New Jersey State Police barracks in Totowa to discuss the crucial bonds between them.
Violence against various faiths have raised genuine security concerns nationwide that were addressed in the meeting.
NJ Attorney General John J. Hoffman (PHOTOS: Courtesy OCEAN COUNTY PROSECUTOR)
These were underscored in riveting remarks by acting state Attorney General John J. Hoffman, who cited the horrific Charleston church shootings last month and the massive riots that swept through Baltimore in April.
“Without a positive working relationship with faith leaders, it is impossible for law enforcement to do their jobs,” Hoffman said.
Both Teaneck and Lakewood, home to tens of thousands of children, were praised for the way citizens there interact with police in their day-to-day lives and at mass gatherings.
“Over the years, relationships between community leaders and law enforcement have continued to improve,” NJSP chaplain Rabbi Abe Friedman noted.
Others attending included Port Authority Police Deputy Supt. Edward Cetnar and several sheriffs — Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik, Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari, Morris County Sheriff Edward Rochford, Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy and Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden.
Rabbi Abe Friedman (PHOTOS: Courtesy OCEAN COUNTY PROSECUTOR)
Also attending were two mayors with their chiefs: Saddle Brook Mayor Robert White (a former deputy police chief) and Police Chief Robert Kugler and Teaneck Mayor Lizette Parker and Police Chief Robert Carney.
Steven Gutkin, associate director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, and federal representatives from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Attorney’s Office also attended — as did Norwood Police Chief Jeffrey Krapels.
“You are there for us, through good times and bad,” NJSP Lt. Brian Polite told the faith-based leaders representing churches, synagogues and mosques throughout the state.
“Members of law enforcement should realize that working with community leaders not only enhances local security but also allows troopers and members of law enforcement to have the benefit of getting support from the community leaders and chaplains in times of crisis,” Polite said.
Echoing those sentiments was Coronato, the Ocean County prosecutor, who said: “Gaining an understanding of faith based customs has given me the ability to do my job and run my office better.”
Hoffman, the attorney general, touted the success of a gun buyback program, spearheaded by his office, through which nearly 20,000 firearms have been turned in for cash at churches, mosques and other destinations statewide.
He also noted that protocols are in place to reach out to faith based community leaders in the event of any serious acts of violence.
PHOTOS: Courtesy OCEAN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
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