There’s been a changing of the guard in Monroe Township.
Late last month, James DeHart was sworn in as the new chief of police as former Chief John McKeown retired. DeHart is a tried and true product of Williamstown. He went through the public school system where he met his wife, Beth. The two graduated from Williamstown High School in 1990. Beth, like her husband, works in the community she calls home as an employee of the school district. The two have a son, LJ. Like his father, LJ is a first responder – he works as a full-time fireman at the Atlantic City Airport.
Upon graduation, DeHart had plans to join the Army where his job would have been military police. A motorcycle accident before going to boot camp forced him to change his contract. Instead of going to basic training, he decided to work with his dad and uncle at their electrical contractor business. From there, he began volunteering at the Williamstown Fire Company with the goal of becoming a police officer.
Three years later, in 1993, DeHart was hired as a dispatcher and court bailiff in Monroe Township, and he’s been here ever since. Getting into law enforcement is in his blood. His father is a retired lieutenant in the State Police, while his uncle is a retired sergeant in Glassboro. He sees law enforcement as an opportunity to help people.
“When I joined the fire company, I was able to help in that capacity,” he said. “I saw it [law enforcement] as a challenging career. Your day is different every day. You’re dealing with different people, some on the worst day of their life. You really get the opportunity to help people through tough times. Police officers’ job goes to everything from keeping peace, enforcing laws, counseling, to helping people through tough times. There are a lot of opportunities to help people in a bad situation.”
Before being sworn in as chief, DeHart previously held the rank of lieutenant, where he was the emergency management coordinator, something the police haven’t been involved with since the 1990s. Now that he’s chief, one of DeHart’s goals is to get back out in the community.
“This summer, you’ll see we’ll have a few officers chipping in and working with the community response unit,” he said. “Our bicycles are going to get back out on the street; foot patrols are back, involved in the community addressing problem areas. We want to keep our business district visible with law enforcement – it’s a very safe area but police presence always gives a feeling of security and safety.”
The word “police” and the phrase “community involvement” are synonymous with one national event, National Night Out. This is something DeHart is looking forward to because the different departments of the agency are well represented. He said it gives a chance for residents to get to know the other officers besides the ones who respond when a burglar alarm goes off or for a car accident.
“I’m a transformational leader. I want to be more out in the public, I want to see more community involvement from officers,” he added. “We want to get more into the community. We’ve done ‘Coffee with Cops,’ ‘Cones with Cops,’ we’ve done ‘Bag Out Hunger’ with ShopRite. We want to do more things like that.”
According to DeHart, Deputy Chief Dave Dailey will spearhead more community relations events in that vein.
“You’ll see Monroe Township Police out in the community more for different events,” DeHart said.
When he’s not at work, DeHart can be found studying for his master’s degree in administrative science, which is geared toward leadership and management. He has a bachelor’s degree in independent studies from Farleigh Dickinson University, as well as an undergraduate certificate in public administration. When not studying, he can be found hunting, watching the Phillies or lounging on the beach. He previously coached his son’s baseball team and even umpired a few games. He takes his coffee black or with a little bit of cream.
Another trait that makes DeHart unique is his background as a firefighter. As a volunteer at the Williamstown Fire Company, DeHart held every operational rank: lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and chief.
“Dealing with an organization like the Williamstown Fire Company was definitely a learning experience to give me building blocks to get ready for this position,” he described. “When you’re down there you’re dealing with volunteers, they’re there because they want to be there. They have a drive to do good and be there, you always have people willing to work with you. … Being part-time, you got a lot of input from volunteer firefighters and other ranks. Here, I want to bring some of that, give some officers and civilian staff that opportunity, Look at what they bring to this and give them ownership to operation of the agency.”
Despite being a growing community, Williamstown still has that old-time, small-town feel. Most of the officers live in town or nearby which means when something happens in the community they have a vested interest – not only as law enforcement but a proud member of the community.
“I live in a development in town. When something happens in that development, the people know who I am, they come to me and ask questions. That’s been my whole career,” DeHart said. “That goes for every officer here. Most of our kids go to school here, our families live here. We want this to be the best community it can be.”
With a new role he’s looking to do right by the community.
“There’s a lot of pride for this community for me. Playing sports here, it’s just home. It’s where I want to be,” he said. “I was excited for the opportunity. I’m dedicated to making this town better, dedicated to running this police department to the best of our ability.”
With a team-first mentality, he’s ready to get to work.
“I’m really excited to work with this group of officers. Coming up, we made 11 promotions the night I was promoted, hopefully a 12th soon. I have a great group of officers, a great group of middle management that has a lot of experience here. I think that will help this agency moving forward.”
