Burlington County partnership to increase police presence around River Line communities

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For the last couple of weeks, Burlington County sheriff’s officers have been patrolling the streets in the towns served by NJ Transit’s River Line, from Palmyra to Bordentown. It’s part of a partnership between the municipalities, the sheriff’s office and NJ Transit police to actively protect neighborhoods near the light rail.

Bordentown City Police Chief Shaun Lafferty, who is president of the Burlington County Association of Police Chiefs, said the executive board of the association shared their concerns about an increase in the number of incidents that were occurring in River Line communities.

“Sen. [Troy] Singleton and Asw. [Andrea] Katz listened to stakeholders’ concerns and made a serious commitment to invest in improving the quality of life and safety within our River Line communities,” he said.

Singleton was on hand for Monday’s announcement to present a ceremonial check to the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office for $150,000. The money, which was secured through this year’s state budget, will go to overtime costs for officers who work special assignments patrolling neighborhoods around the River Line.

County Sheriff James Kostoplis hopes the money will last about a year.

“We’ll have to adapt as things go on,” he said. “We meet with the chiefs, and they let us know what the trends are, and we will change as different things happen.”

Kostoplis added the county’s goal is not just to respond to incidents, “but to create a safer environment through proactive policing, community engagement and providing direct support to our municipal police departments.”

That direct support includes being available for transporting prisoners to the county detention center in Mount Holly.

Riverton Police Chief Andrew Beuschel said that is a help to his small department.

“As a seven-man police force, we are sometimes limited, especially when it comes to transporting arrestees to jail or exploring solutions to address individuals facing homelessness,” he said.

Officials said there hasn’t been any spike or uptick in crime in the areas around the River Line, but quality-of-life issues persist.

“What we are seeing is originating here, around the light rails,” Beuschel added. “That is where most of our crimes are either occurring or the person that is committing the crime has originated from.”

Singleton said the partnership is “critically important for the peace of mind of residents.” He adds that they don’t want to term it as “a Philadelphia issue.”

“We are concerned about some of the transient nature of things that are happening here, and what that means to the quality of life of the residents of these communities.”