Letter to the Editor: Police Chief Search, Cameras and Foot Patrols

To the editor:

Summit Police Chief Robert Lucid retired August 1st after 36 years in the Police Department. His legacy is a force of 46 highly trained and educated police officers that I would trust in any situation. The process to choose a new chief begins shortly. The Mayor in conjunction with the City Administrator and the Safety committee which I chair will be interviewing the four candidates that qualify and expressed interest. I am confident that any one of these officers would do a good job.

Police staffing has varied over the years. In the 1970’s we hit a high of 58. In the 1980s  a low of 43 sworn officers in a fairly stable population base. A number of functions that used to be done by uniformed officers are now done by civilians. The job of record clerk, dispatch and some administrative duties are now performed by civilians. Our police cruisers now are equipped with lap top computers that allow officers to file reports from their vehicles rather than headquarters.

As Mayor I would work to get more foot patrols downtown, particularly after dark. The bidding process has begun for cameras in select locations downtown. Our combined dispatch center is moving forward. It has been funded largely by Federal monies and will be state of the art. It is to be housed in New Providence and will service four towns. It will be a source of true cost savings. 

We have been able to keep our force strong, our technology updated and all within the 2% cap. In these very difficult times, Summit has maintained  services and had our AAA bond rating reaffirmed.

Thanks for your time.

Ellen Dickson
Candidate for Mayor