The proposal, however, came under criticism from one councilman who called the new ordinance “a political sleight of hand [and] an Orwellian effort.”
The move comes amid discussions by Princeton Borough and Princeton Township about possibly merging the municipalities and police forces, and it has prompted conversation about the role of the University’s Department of Public Safety in responding to crimes on campus.
In a 4-1 vote on April 13, Borough Council members lowered the number of officers the police department was authorized to hire to 30, down from 34. But because the Borough currently has 27 officers, the department can hire three additional officers. The restructuring process will also create the position of captain and spur internal promotions.
Borough Councilman and Police Commissioner Kevin Wilkes ’83 explained that budgetary concerns prompted a reevaluation of the proper size of the force.
“We knew we had to make budget cuts,” Wilkes said, adding that 30 officers is a “reasonable number lower than 34 that we could get away with in managing the police business.”
“Don’t get me wrong; I’d love to have a 34-officer force,” Wilkes said. “I’ve also said I don’t want to raise taxes ... I can’t afford the 34-person department right now.”
But Roger Martindell, the only councilman to vote against the measure, said that his colleagues were misrepresenting the move as a budget cut, since three additional officers can be hired.
“This most recent ordinance was a political sleight of hand, an Orwellian effort, a Madison Avenue package job, to pretend that we’re actually tightening out belts,” he said.
Martindell added that he is concerned that the restructuring avoids larger questions about department operations.
“People are focusing on promoting a lieutenant to a captain so they can get paid more,” he said. “But we’re avoiding fundamental questions of what kinds of police services we should be delivering to the community, and at what cost.”
The department has two lieutenants right now, Nicholas Sutter and Sharon Papp, one of whom will become the new captain, Wilkes said.
Martindell said he was concerned that a captain would be considered the “presumptive” replacement for Chief David Dudeck when he eventually retires, limiting the Borough Council’s flexibility when interviewing candidates for the position.
“If we promote one to captain, [then] because of the nature of the captain being the presumptive new chief, we would have already predetermined” the chief position, he said.
“Why a fancy new title with an increase in pay?” Martindell asked. “We lose the opportunity to go back and change our mind. Why would we want do that?”
Wilkes said that the department needs a clear second-in-command. however.
The “selection of captain makes somebody clearly in charge when the chief is not present or not at work or on vacation,” Wilkes said, adding that it establishes a “clear line of authority.”
Wilkes said he expects that the only outside hires will be for patrol officer positions.
Personnel decisions should be ready for final approval from the Borough Council by mid-summer, Wilkes added.
Dudeck did not respond to requests for comment, and Sutter, the department’s spokesman, declined to comment because his position may be involved in the changes and because other details are the chief’s “prerogative,” he said. Mayor Mildred Trotman did not respond to a request for comment.
The Role of Public Safety
The debate surrounding a staffing increase prompted discussion among Borough Council members about whether Public Safety officers, who are unarmed, can take on a greater role in law enforcement for on-campus incidents.
“It’s pretty obvious [that for] something, God forbid, [where] there would be some kind of armed attack, clearly you need Borough police,” Wilkes said, adding that incidents like assault and rape would also require a police response.
But “going down below that, if there’s a shoving match between some drunk seniors, I don’t know” if the Borough needs to be involved, he said. “Where do you set that line?”
But Martindell said that this conversation has actually been delayed by the current restructuring proposal. “We’ve avoided considering how we might better share police services with the town and Princeton University,” he said.
Martindell added that Public Safety has not recently discussed overall police coordination with the Borough Council, as conversations have focused mainly on alcohol-related incidents.
“Have we received a Public Safety representative in the Borough Council to talk to us about a wider range of issues? Not in the [21 years] I’ve been there,” he said.
Director of Public Safety Paul Ominsky said in an e-mail that the University, including Public Safety representatives, has had “regular on-going dialog with representatives from the Borough Police Department. Since we already speak about issues of mutual concern we welcome further discussion of ways that Public Safety and the Borough Police can support each other.”
Because the town and the University have not had an in-depth conversation on the issue, the possibility of Public Safety taking on more law enforcement duties was not factored into the decision to increase Borough staffing, Wilkes said.
Wilkes added that he has “heard very good things” about Ominsky, who took office in January.
“New faces and new thoughts could bring around new ideas,” said Wilkes, who was appointed police commissioner in January.
The possibility of arming Public Safety officers has been a subject of debate on campus. In response to a survey of the student body which found that 56 percent of respondents opposed arming Public Safety officers, the USG recommended in January that the officers remain unarmed. Students argued the issue at a debate sponsored by Whig-Cliosophic Society in February, in which audience members voted 15-8 in favor of allowing officers to carry guns on campus.
Potential merger
The possibility of a merger between the Township and the Borough played into the decision to increase the Borough police staff, Wilkes said.
“We don’t want to oversize our two departments ... if there’s a chance we might unify them,” he explained. Wilkes noted that a ballot question about the town merger could appear in November 2011.
“That’s what we’re driving towards: a discussion, the creation of the strategy and, if the strategy is adopted, how to present it to the voting public,” Wilkes said.
But Martindell said that a potential merger “didn’t play any role in the public discussion.”
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