By Chris Megerian
Gloucester County Times
Twenty-five years ago, Clinton Pagano, then the leader of New Jersey’s State Police, told reporters at a press conference he wanted to hire “one thousand troopers in one thousand days.”
He almost hit his mark. In a booming economy that produced fat state budgets from 1985 through 1988, 834 troopers from nine academy classes joined the ranks. It was one of the largest recruitment drives in State Police history.
Now those same troopers are nearing retirement age - and the prospect of a mass exodus worries both top brass and the rank and file.
“We could have 20 percent of the force go out the door in the next couple of years,” said David Jones, head of the troopers’ union. “And we’re working short already.”
Just over 200 troopers, almost 7 percent of the State Police, have 25 or more years on the job, the time when most start turning in their badges and gun. Another 722 troopers are close behind with at least 20 years of experience.
The situation may be further exacerbated by New Jersey’s budget crisis. Gov. Chris Christie has proposed a budget without any money to hire new troopers in the upcoming fiscal year. If funding is not squeezed into the $29.3 billion budget, this year will be the first since 2000 without any new troopers joining the ranks.
At the same time, the role of the State Police is expanding. The division has increased by almost 400 troopers in the last decade, but its responsibilities now include terrorism investigations and urban operations in addition to its traditional task of patrolling the state’s highways.
Last year, Superintendent Rick Fuentes said the State Police needs 3,100 troopers to “keep our noses above the water line.” The division now has 3,016 troopers.
“It’s one of the major concerns that we have right now with the State Police,” Attorney General Paula Dow said. “These are dire times.”
Christie’s transition team warned of the expected retirements.
“There is justifiable concern that staffing levels ... have not kept pace with the increasing responsibilities charged to the State Police,” the transition team wrote in a January report. “It is likely this problem will intensify because the Division anticipates the retirement of some 1,000 troopers over the next few years.”
The wave hasn’t hit yet. Last year 89 troopers left the force, and 16 have retired so far this year. Twenty-three troopers are either 55, the mandatory retirement age for everyone except the superintendent, or will turn 55 this year.
Another generation of troopers is right behind - 253 are within five years of mandatory retirement.
But many don’t wait until the mandatory retirement age, opting to get out when they qualify for full benefits after 25 years. Jones thinks even more will be eyeing the door because of Trenton’s effort to trim pension benefits for future retirees.
“You’ve got a toxic mix there,” he said. “There’s an incentive to get off the tracks before the train comes.”
The State Police went on a hiring spree 25 years ago because leaders were eager to expand the ranks after several slow hiring years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, said George Wren, a retired lieutenant who has written a history of the division. More troopers were needed because State Police were being given new jobs like disaster control, missing persons cases and truck inspections.
“The State Police was incurring responsibilities other agencies were giving up,” Wren said. He remembers his squad, which covered 300 square miles in rural Cumberland County, welcoming the new recruits. “Your closest back-up might be 20 or 30 miles away,” Wren said. “We needed the help.”
Like then, State Police responsibilities have expanded over the past decade. Troopers patrol high crime urban areas like Camden and Irvington, while more were assigned to terrorism task forces after 9/11.
But unlike the 1980s, the State Police’s expanded role has been followed by an economic recession, draining the tax revenue needed to hire new troopers.
The last new class graduated in June 2009 with 104 troopers. Fuentes said he’s not expecting any more until at least June 30, 2011. The Christie administration said pushing off the class will save $8.3 million.
“We will review and evaluate our resources to determine how proposed cuts in funding might affect our operations,” Fuentes said. “The core mission of the New Jersey State Police will remain the same and not be compromised.”
The tight budget is squeezing the State Police in other ways.
Christie’s transition report said police facilities “are aging and critical repairs have not been made due to lack of funding. Certain elements of the State Police vehicle fleet have deteriorated to the point where safety is an issue. In addition, computer system hardware is obsolete or inefficient.”
Christie’s budget proposal pushes back the State Police’s purchase of new cars until late in the fiscal year to save $1.84 million. The budget crisis also imperiled a $4.65 million project to upgrade the cameras in 600 State Police patrol cars from VHS to a digital system. Installations had ceased but will resume when funding is restored July 1, said Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the attorney general’s office.
Copyright 2010 Gloucester County Times