MIDDLESEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3rd Floor

Andrew C. Carey New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Christopher L. C. Kuberiet
County Prosecutor 732-745-3300 11 Assistant Prosecutor
prosecutor@co.middlesex.nj.us
Deputy I cl Assistants
Gerard P. McAleer
Chief of County Investigators Christie L. Bevacqua
Brian D. Gillet

August 2, 2017

Mayor Christopher Slavicek

Borough Hall
51 Main Street
Helmetta, NJ 08828

Dear Mayor Slavicek:

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with the borough council Monday evening
concerning the ongoing issues with the Borough of Helmetta's police department. It is very
clear from our discussions, that the elected officials of Helmetta have the best interests of its
citizens in mind and share the common goal of optimizing public safety. As a follow up to our
discussions, I would like to reiterate some of the issues we discussed involving the current state
of your police department.

Historically, the Helmetta Police Department (HPD) has been in various stages of
turmoil. For longer than I have had the honor of serving as County Prosecutor, these issues
have existed. While the borough has sought to address some of these issues by doing such
things as hiring a police director, appointing a police chief, and passing relevant ordinances,
many of the problems remain. And as you are now giving serious consideration to
consolidating police services with one of your surrounding towns, it is most important to
recognize that Borough of Helmetta does not have an independently functioning police
department.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office (MCPO) currently oversees many law
enforcement operations at HPD. This has been ongoing for some time. Over the past year,
two MCPO supervisors have been assigned to assist the HPD. In addition to lacking its own
adequate supervision, HPD does not have sufficient certified officers to perform basic patrol
duties. Recently, in addition to assistance from the Spotswood Police Department, my office
has provided detectives to perform this function as well. Furthermore, when a patrol shift is
covered by a sole Helmetta officer, he is dependent upon assistance from a nearby town for
any serious situation, thereby placing him at significant risk.

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 The HPD staff is so limited, that officer availability to attend mandatory in-service
training is a serious issue. Every officer needs to be adequately trained on topics such as use-
of-force, response to citizens in emotional crisis or with mental health issues, response to bias
crimes, best practices in law enforcement, and updates on the applicable laws which are
constantly changing. Likewise, oftentimes there are no officers available to serve as liaisons on
a variety of specific areas, such as juvenile justice, special victim investigations, narcotics
trafficking and criminal intelligence. There is no Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) in
the borough.

The HPD historically has an over-reliance on Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEOs),
whose capabilities are limited. HPD has no specialized officers who are capable of dealing with
such things as sexual abuse cases, fatal crash, accident reconstruction, and arson. Additional
personnel are also needed for records management; to provide discovery, to respond to OPRA
requests, etc.

With such limited staff for patrol, managerial, and support functions, it is not possible
for HPD to comply and adhere to the applicable laws, guidelines and directives issued by the
Office of the Attorney General and the Prosecutor's Office. In addition, the HPD is severely
deficient in the basic police requirement of having written policies and procedures. As
discussed at our meeting and confirmed by your borough attorney, this places the borough in
an untenable position in the event of a lawsuit.

In addition to staffing issues, the HPD faces many challenges regarding infrastructure
maintenance. While it appears that the borough has more than enough police vehicles, many
have high mileage and none have a mobile video recorder (MVR). Likewise, no officer is
outfitted with a body worn camera (BWC). In addition to lacking the basic hardware for MVR
and BWC systems, the HPD has no capability to store, access, edit and provide discovery
concerning any video which could be gathered. I recognize that devices such as MVRs and
BWCs are not required by law or directive, however, their use is recognized as a "best practice"
by law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and communities throughout the nation. In
addition, no HPD officer is certified to carry or utilize a Conducted Energy Device (CED),
commonly referred to as a stun-gun or taser. Access to less-than-lethal means to stop a threat,
is obviously important, and also recognized nationwide as a best practice. The HPD prisoner
holding cell is inadequate, and has not been certified by the Department of Corrections. The
interview room's video equipment, while present, is not functional (which is a basic
requirement). The evidence processing and storage area is wholly inadequate and may need to
be expanded. In addition, the lack of adequate security of the police station may place officers
in jeopardy from unruly persons or former arrestees seeking revenge or retribution.

Accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies

(CALEA) and/or the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) is attained by
many law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Accreditation provides for greater
accountability within an agency, provides a stronger defense against lawsuits, and increases

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and improves community advocacy. Unfortunately, the HPD is not now, nor may ever be,
capable of becoming accredited without significant funding increases.

The HPD currently relies heavily on surrounding towns for basic police functions. The
HPD has already outsourced such things as its police dispatch, DVRT responsibilities, training,
and mobile data terminal (vehicle computer) support. Furthermore, police from surrounding
towns provide mutual aid on a regular basis.

Consolidation with a nearby town is clearly the next logical step.

Every one of the concerns outlined in this letter goes directly to the safety of the
community, the safety of the officers, as well as the issue of liability for both the borough and
its managers. In terms of potential liability, one major incident involving the police could be
financially devastating to the borough. As stated earlier, Helmetta does not currently have a
fully functioning police department. The cost of upgrading the HPD to an acceptable level of
competence may be cost-prohibitive and/or not attainable due to legislative tax caps.

I urge you to continue to move forward with a plan for consolidation of services with an
adjacent town. If you do, I will continue to lend our support to best serve the citizens of
Helmetta.
Sincerely,

ANDREW C. CAREY
Middlesex County Prosecutor

cc: Council President Peter Karczewski