Media Release
Contact FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kevin C. Rabago, Sr.
(856) 451-3407
KELLY SEES
“MOBILE” AS BEST APPROACH FOR POLICE SUBSTATION IN BRIDGETON
When it comes to preventing crime at the local level,
there are some basic strategies but in most neighborhoods it starts with having
a police presence. That presence mostly comes through patrols, but for neighborhood
“hot spots”, the idea of a police substation has always had its appeal.
But what happens, after spending money creating a substation
at a fixed location, when that hot spot is no longer quite as hot or moves to
another neighborhood? That’s where the mobile substation comes into play;
rather than being confined to one spot, police can move around as the need
arises.
The mobile approach came out of discussions between Mayor
Albert Kelly, Police Chief Michael Gaimari, and Business Administrator
Stephanie Bush-Baskette on the need for additional tools to address crime
overall and specifically “hot spots” where, according to Chief Gaimari, there’s
an increase in criminal activity.
“We have a couple of locations in the city where the number
of serious incidents is substantially higher and we felt a mobile substation
may be the best approach,” Gaimari said, “the unit will not be out every day or
all day and night due to available manpower, but we will be able to
strategically deploy the unit to areas in the city where we have determined such
need based on prior activity or from information developed through
investigations pertaining to possible future incidents.”
The mobile substation is a box-truck type unit that was initially
transferred over to the police department from the fire department several
years ago and was primarily used as a major crime scene command post in
situations where officers needed to be stationed at certain locations for long
periods of time.
As a result, the truck was partially equipped for police
use when the decision was made to create the mobile substation and after
reallocating some existing funds, the vehicle was outfitted with infrared
camera monitoring equipment, computers and communication equipment that
provides access to the department’s main headquarters, and some additional
lighting. According to Gaimari, the upgrades came in at less than $2,500.
While the mobile substation will not be on the street
fulltime due to staffing and other logistical considerations, it is partially
the element of surprise and the need to be quick and responsive to the changing
nature of the street that is most appealing to Kelly.
“A mobile substation has advantages over a building. For
one thing, it puts the bad guys on notice that we’re here and we’re watching.
The other advantage is that the mobile substation can move around as the bad
guys move around in a neighborhood; also we don’t have to worry about problems
normally associated with structures or the thing becoming obsolete” said Kelly.
In addition to taking an innovative approach to fighting
crime in Bridgeton, Kelly is also mindful of costs and he believes that the
plan mapped out by Chief Gaimari will easily provide a good return on
investment.
“I want to thank Chief Gaimari for his innovative approach
to problem-solving. Realizing that renovating a fixed-location substation or
purchasing a newer mobile substation would range in costs from tens of
thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, he improvised and came up with an
affordable way to get us started. In the future, my hope is to find additional
resources to expand this initiative” Kelly said.
For now, it will be a learning curve in finding out what
works and what doesn’t work and making adjustments as they go.
“Our call volume and assignments will not allow us to
have the mobile substation in operation as much as we would like, but it will
be out there when we determine a need and know that it can be safely manned and
operated,” Gaimari said.
In addition to fighting crime and cooling down the “hot
spots”, both Kelly and Gaimari hope to use the new mobile substation at
community-based events as part of a broader goal of increasing and improving police-community
relations.
“Sometimes it is necessary to try new strategies and for
the Bridgeton community, the mobile substation is that type of initiative and
it will be one tool among several that should help improve things in our
neighborhoods” said Kelly.
The new mobile police substation is set to be unveiled on
Tuesday, October 3rd at the Police & Municipal Court Complex
located at 330 Fayette Street beginning at 3:30pm
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To
learn more about the City of Bridgeton, please visit www.cityofbridgeton.com
Use anonymous TIP411 Text Service to report
crime by texting “Bridgeton” plus your tip to 847411
