When it comes to cutting down the police force to balance the township’s budget, the question is, “What cut is too deep?”
Medford Police Chief Richard Meder thinks that cut has already been made.
Four more police officers were laid off recently and Medford will lose a fifth position in April when a lieutenant retires.
The number of police officers has dropped dramatically from 49 in 2009 to 28 now.
Of those 28, four are contracted out to outside entities: three are assigned to the Lenape Regional High School District and another is assigned to the motor vehicle commission. Because the township gets reimbursed, those officers must stay there.
Then, after factoring in administrative officers and detectives, there are only about 19 officers to patrol the streets on a regular basis.
“That certainly is alarming,” Meder said.
With such a diminished force, the police may not respond to all calls — and when they do they could be late in getting there.
“Ultimately I’m concerned about how much time it’s going to take us to respond to calls,” the chief said.
Medford is 40 square miles in size.
He has seen since the last round of layoffs an increase in response times “that will continue to increase as we continue to lose manpower.”
Medford has a reputation among criminals as being safe for residents, Meder said.
“There certainly is something to be said for being highly visible and the deterrence factor that causes,” he said. “That reputation, that ability to deter people from coming here to commit crime, is something that we’re losing.
“The criminals read the newspapers and watch the news.”
There used to be six administrators and now it is just Meder and one lieutenant. Also, the detective bureau has been cut in half to two detectives.
“There’s certainly more to running a police department than just responding to calls,” Meder said, such as background and criminal investigations. “There are all kinds of things that go on behind the scenes that also have to get done.”
He said he is not surprised by the proposed budget, however.
“I fully understand that we are in a significant budget crisis here in Medford,” Meder said. “Together as a community, we’re going to have to continue to figure a way to get out of it.
“I think the current council is doing the best that they can in an effort to try and figure this mess out.”
The chief said there is an increase in burglaries in Medford and surrounding communities.
“It may take a month, it may take six months — but we’ll certainly at some point feel those effects of losing officers,” he said.
Not only does having fewer officers pose a problem for residents, it is also a danger to police because backup may not always be immediately available for serious calls.
“When you’re involved in one of those altercations, it seems like forever,” Meder said. “Medford is certainly not immune to criminal activity, and when the officers are out there dealing with it, it’s nice to know that if you need a backup, someone is close by. Certainly my hope for the future is to see this town get well and add officers.”
“This town has come to expect a certain quality of living,” he said. “One of the reasons people come here is because of its public safety.”
