Cherry Hill Township’s goal in hiring a new police chief was to bring in someone who would continue retiring chief Rick DelCampo’s transformative efforts for the department.
The township chose Capt. William Monaghan.
Monaghan’s hiring was announced on Monday, Dec. 9 and officially approved by Cherry Hill Council later that night. Thunderous applause rang out among the many police officers who came to congratulate Monaghan and say goodbye to DelCampo in a ceremony held at the end of the meeting.
Monaghan’s experience is immense. Working in the Cherry Hill Police Department since October 1995, he has been in every capacity from patrol officer to detective to his most recent position as head of the police department’s Administrative Division. In that role, he was responsible for managing police operations as well as the Office of Emergency Management.
Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn detailed the vast experience and relationship with his colleagues that made Monaghan an ideal candidate for chief.
“He has the trust and respect of the peers in his department,” Cahn said.
Monaghan doesn’t come in with the idea of changing anything. Instead, he hopes to continue the path the department has been set on by DelCampo since he took over in 2010.
“He’s been a transformational leader, and he’s been changing the culture of this department,” Monaghan said. “The past three and a half years, we’ve been working on building efficiencies in our department.”
These efficiencies revolve around bringing the Cherry Hill Police Department into the 21st century with new technology to make the job easier and to make residents safer.
Monaghan referred to the department’s new pawn shop tracking software as one of the things started by DelCampo that has made life easier for officers.
The software has pawn shops and other secondhand dealers in Cherry Hill put each transaction into a database that is searchable by the police.
If an item is reported stolen to police and was sold at a secondhand dealer, the department can simply browse the database to find details on where, when and how the item was sold. Monaghan said the new program, like other advances, he’s helped the department save resources and the township save money.
These advances in technology were part of the legacy DelCampo is leaving at Cherry Hill and part of the mission Monaghan hopes to carry on in his new role. He said he plans to continue DelCampo’s initiative of making technological advances in the department with phase two of the department’s transformation. Monaghan said more improvements will be coming in 2014.
In moving to the new position, Monaghan said the transition has been very smooth. He credits DelCampo for being a great mentor for him over the years.
“We’re very stable at this point,” Monaghan said of the department.
