The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 25, Number 3 | Page 4

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | March 2019
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
CHIEF RICHARD J. BUZBY, JR.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR PD
Make no mistake, community policing (CP) is work. Many of the mission critical meetings and
gatherings are on nights, weekends and holidays, times that we would like to be with our own
families. While many gatherings can be handled by subordinate officers, many do require the
presence of senior officers, including the chief. The gatherings themselves can represent an
enormous collective effort and are more than likely underfunded and, at times, lack political
support. In a highly regimented profession, all of these things cause us to “think outside the box” a
place where not all of us have always been comfortable. Speaking of not comfortable, in order to
really make CP work, police hierarchies have to be flattened and that really requires a leap of faith
and a significant philosophical shift is usually necessary. Lastly, in this age of instant gratification,
the benefits of CP are usually not immediately apparent, sometimes taking years to fully manifest
and sometimes in the least likely of ways.
The beauty of this all, however is that, by all this, you inevitably increase your agency’s positive profile and by this you enable
inspired and incredible police work to occur. Candid conversations and communications become kind of second nature with all
parts of your community and these allow police leaders to understand policing priorities as seen by their constituents and,
ultimately, their elected leaders. Ordinary citizens suddenly realize they have not only a stake in the outcome, but represent
potential agents of change that problematic situations require. Police resources realize that they have not only unaccustomed
levels of community support to tackle those often “broken windows” type problems but also the funding and informational input
to make it all happen. Altogether, done correctly, these things can launch your agencies from functional, but 20 th century,
“dinosaurs” to 21 st century “dynamos” that today’s policing situations often require.
I had the privilege to attend the first annual “coffee with a cop” in Cinnaminson this last Saturday. This program has done a lot in
many jurisdictions to get police officers together with those they serve in a more “regular” environment where normal
communication is possible without all of the inhibiting factors that are associated with the emergency response. During those
times we, as police officers, feel the need to raise the “shield” of professionalism to calm situations and provide often difficult
solutions under the most difficult of circumstances. What I observed on Saturday was a very decent group of law enforcement
professionals wanting to be more themselves and, in response, many residents responding in kind by enthusiastically supporting
that effort.
In the case of my Department we have been engaged in efforts like these since at least 1988. Over those years we have
remained in relatively constant contact with essentially anyone in our community who wanted to talk to us. Especially during
emergencies and times of crisis, that communication is very difficult, but those seem to be precisely the times when real
information best serves our communities. I’ll give you an example that recently happened in one of our senior communities with
which we have a long established relationship. It seems that an emotionally disturbed man had moved in with his mother, a
resident of that community. As his behavior became more and more bizarre she was increasingly concerned and she reluctantly
called us when he completely lost control and resorted to a knife wielding attempt at suicide by cop. Because of the relationship
with that community we were immediately able to call upon the residents there to remain calm, stay in safe areas and respect the
containment zone where we were eventually able to resolve the incident without injury. In another recent incident a police
involved shooting was eventually able to be better resolved because several leaders of communities of interest appealed for calm
due to relationships that were created with that department over time and based entirely on trust and sustained collaboration.
With all of my heart, I would urge you to consider all of this and really give it a shot. Those that are all in know what I am talking
about but I would ask that they help a neighboring police leader to better understand the potential. Those that are trying but
perhaps have not yet benefitted just keep at it and I assure you one day soon you’ll be glad that you did. Those that are on the
verge I encourage you to follow the others. If baby steps are how you can start, take them. If you can do something more take
that shot. I think you’ll be glad that you did.
Thanks for listening,
Chief Richard J. Buzby, Jr.
NJSACOP President
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