INCORPORATED1912
New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police
Mitchell C. Sklar, Esq., CAE, Executive Director
President
Chief Eric Mason
CranfordPolice Dept.
Officers 2010-2011
1st Vice President
ChiefWilliamNally
~ey Township£olice_D_e-,-pt_--=B=.y
2nd Vice President
ChiefRaymondHayducka
South BrunswickPolice Dept. civilian administrator confusingly called a "police director" or a "public safety director." Do
3rd Vice President
ChiefPaul Cell
MontclairSt. Univ.Police Dept. from exercising any police powers, but even restricts their access to law enforcement
4th Vice President
ChiefKevinSauter
Colts Neck Police Dept.
VicePresident at Large
ChiefRobertTovo
MountainLakes Police Dept.
Treasurer
ChiefR. BrettMatheis
ClintonPolice Dept.
ImmediatePast President
ChiefRobertCoulton
EwingTwp.Police Dept.
Sergeant-at-Arms
NorthernRegion
ChiefKurtDombrowski
CaldwellPolice Dept.
CentralRegion
ChiefJames Eufemia
Hightstown Police Dept.
Southern Region
ChiefRobert Doyle
MagnoliaPolice Dept.
Parliamentarian
ChiefAntonDanca (Ret.)
ClarkPolice Dept.
One Greentree Centre, Suite 201 --- Marlton, NJ 08053
www.njsacop.org
Tel. # (856) 988-5880
Fax # (856) 810-0223
E-mail: njsatp@njsacop.org
Dear Resident:
With the pending retirement of your local Chief of Police, your local elected officials are
contemplating the elimination ofthe top sworn police rank in your municipal police
department, to be replaced by a civilian political appointee. We respectfully assert that this is
a misguided and costly idea, one that harms both the operation of your police department, and
your pocket as a taxpayer.
promoting a new Police Chie:(from within the ~epartment, your town could save virtually
all of the money allocated to the current Chief s salary. Instead, your local offiCTalS seem
intent on adding an additional salary to the police payroll by bringing on a new employee, a
not be misled by the title - such positions are completely civilian in nature, with no police
powers or authority. State law severely restricts their authority and prevents them not only
information, even preventing them from accessing confidential internal affairs investigation
files.
In short, these civilian administrators (even if confusingly given a title like "police director")
are limited by law to routine tasks such as scheduling and public meetings, yet draw an
executive salary. On the other hand, with a sworn Chief of Police the police department, and
the local residents that pay for the department, get "2 - for 1" - a sworn police officers and a
fully-functioning police administrator.
Several other jurisdictions have tried similar schemes. In many such situations, what
followed was confused lines of authority or over-reaching by the civilian administrators (or
their political patrons), crushed departmental morale, and not infrequently protracted and
costly litigation.
Municipalities such as South Orange, Mount Holly, Plainsboro, Lakewood, Verona,
Lavallette, Piscataway, Egg Harbor City, Lacey, Tinton Falls, Edgewater Park, Bridgewater,
Florence, Lyndhurst, Keyport, Mansfield, Netcong, Asbury Park, Perth Amboy each
experimented with heading their police departments with a civilian administrator. And each
has, either following a longer or shorter experiment, abandoned their experiment and returned
to leadership by a sworn, career Chief of Police.
We urge you to make your voice heard with your town's elected officials. We respectfully ask
that you tell them that promoting a Police Chief from within your police department is the
right thing for your police department, the men and women who protect and serve the
residents and visitors of your town, and most importantly to you, the local taxpayer.
Your consideration is greatly appreciated.
d~.LJAC.~~
Sincerely,
Mitchell C. Sklar
Executive Director
 Our Mission: To
promote and enhance the
highest ethical and
New Jersey State Association
professional standards in law
enforcement at all levels
of Chiefs of Police
throughout New Jersey. www.nisacop.org

SWORN POLICE CHIEF OR CIVILIAN "POLICE DIRECTOR"l

Political interference and an
absence of clearly defined lines of
authority in the law enforcement
function has led our New Jersey
state legislature to enact a law
delineating the power and
authority of officials regarding the
management of a municipal police
deparjment, This law (N].S.A. __
40A:14-118), enacted in 1981,
defines the authority of a munici-
pality to establish a police depart-
ment and appoint members
thereof. The statute describes the
manner in which civilian oversight
is established through a locally
appointed "appropriate authority".
The municipality may also appoint
a person to the position of Chief
of Police to head the police de-
partment. The law outlines the
duties and responsibilities of the
Chief of Police if one is appointed
in the municipality.
This law does not eliminate super-
visory authority over the police
force, even when a Chief of Police
is authorized and appointed. On
the contrary, the Police Chief
remains directly responsible to the
designated appropriate authority
for the "efficiency and conduct of
departmental operations, and must
abide by policies established by
such authority in carrying out his or
her responsibilities." The
statute also requires the Police
Chief to report at least monthly to
the civilian authority .
_ police operations, In som~_
Although the state statute clearly
gives the municipality an option to
appoint a Chief of Police to be the
administrative head of the police
department, it has long been the
position ofNJSACOP that a mu-
nicipal police department should be
headed by a person with the title of
Chief of Police. This position is
founded upon the belief that the
state statute intends to remove
political influence from law en-
forcement. Legislation exists which
provides a Chief of Police to safe-
guards his or her independence in
carrying out his or her lawful
authority to run the day-to-day
operations of a municipal police
department.
Police professionals must have the
authority to make certain decisions
to perform police operations that
re devoid of political interference.
However, it is clear that such
power and authority cannot be
absolute and must be account-
able to the general public.
Some elected public officials
believe they should have even
more influence in oversight of
communities a civilian director
of public safety may have man-
agement oversight over a variety
of emergency services, such as
the fire department, emergency
medical services and the police
department. This concept is
common especially in large cities
and one that frequently works
well.
In other communities, "police
directors" are appointed directly
by the governing body, or other
appropriate authority, to super-
vise the police department in
place of a Chief of Police.
Both a director of public
safety and a police director
are civilian positions without
any law enforcement
authority.
Some local politicians have
decided not to promote a Chief
of Police from within their agency
and instead a civilian "police
director" is appointed to assume
the responsibilities of the
administrative head of the police
department. A person holding this
civilian position has little
independen;;- to run the day to day
operations of a police department
under the law.
It is important to note that there is
a real and very significant
difference between being responsi-
ble to legitimate oversight, and
being beholden to political patrons
or subject to political pressures.
From a budgetary standpoint, a
municipality gets a two-for-one
deal with a sworn Chief of
Police - both a sworn police officer
trained, experienced and
authorized under the law to
perform police functions, and a
professional police administrator.

SWORNCHIEFOF POLICE••• CIVILIAN"POLICEDIRECTOR"•••

• Promotion from within at little or no additional {ostto taxpayer
• Responsibilities, limitations and authority outlined in state law
• Sworn police officer and experienced department head-"2 for 1"
• Clear chain of command and line of authority within the agency
• Complete access to Internal Affairs, Criminal Investigations and all
aspects of the law enforcement function and administration
• Maintain department morale, provide incentive and role model for
continuing professional development of sworn police personnel
• Legally accountable but outside the political system
• Additional salary added onto the police department payroll
• Full salary for one-half function
• Strictly limited role and authority-NO law enforcement powers
• Strictly limited in role and function, outside of the state's law
enforcement chain of command
• Legal disabilities in access to law enforcement information
• May cause legal liability for additional compensation to ranking
sworn police officers [see In the Matter of Arbitration Between
Montgomerv Township and Montgomery SOA(AR·2004·039)]

• Fully integrated within the municipal, county, state and federal law
enforcement systems