Gov. Christie says Trenton should follow Camden with county police force

Governor Christie says using a county police force to patrol Camden City is a model for the rest of the state.

Speaking outside a Camden School, Governor Chris Christie praised Camden County officials for taking over the police force from the struggling city.

“The results we’ve seen so far in the first quarter of this work in the statistics I’ve seen are very encouraging, and it’s not even at full force yet,” said Christie. “We have 100 officers who are in the academy getting ready to hit the streets here in Camden. 100 additional officers that will hit the street in December.

Christie says other struggling cities should follow suit.

“If Trenton wants to repair it’s public safety system, they should look to Camden as a model, and they should look to the Camden County Freeholders in Mercer County. We’d be willing to work with the Mercer County Government the the county executive Hughes and the freeholders in Trenton to do the same type of thing.”

Instead of endorsing the plan, Trenton Mayor Tony Mack released a statement calling on the state to supply funding to hire an additional 75 police officers immediately.

Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney don’t want to send Mack more money since he’s awaiting trial on corruption charges.