newjerseynewsroom.com

Against merging towns to creating county police forces

New Jerseyans see little benefit in merging local police departments and are mostly unaware of the state's problems with criminal gangs, according to a Monmouth University, Gannett New Jersey Press Media poll released Wednesday.

As officials in Somerset and Camden counties discuss merging police departments into a countywide force, and cities like Newark and Camden move on police layoffs, the poll found that most New Jerseyans oppose the idea of having their town served by a countywide

Fifty-two percent oppose the idea and 38 percent support it. Opponents outnumber supporters in every region of the state.

Fear of potentially escalating crime is not a major factor in this opinion. Most residents (58 percent) — both urban and suburban — think having a countywide police force would have no impact on the amount of crime in their town. Among the remainder, 23 percent feel going to a countywide force would lead to more crime while 13 percent feel it would actually lead to less crime.

"While home rule is always a consideration when merging any local service, support for the concept of police consolidation may be low because residents see no significant benefit in it," Patrick Murray, the poll's director, said.

Although most residents (52 percent) say that countywide police consolidation would lead to some taxpayer savings, few (18 percent) say that such savings would be significant.

The poll found that most New Jerseyans feel recent cuts to municipal budgets have not harmed public safety. Sixty-nine percent say there has been no impact on overall safety in their town, while 20 percent say budget cuts have made their town less safe and 6 percent counter that they are actually more safe after these cuts. Urban residents (32 percent) are somewhat more likely than those in older suburban towns (18 percent) or newer suburbs (15 percent) to feel less safe because of these cuts.

Overall, more than 3-in-4 residents have a generally positive view of the job their local police department is doing, including 33 percent who rate their police force as excellent and 45 percent who rate it as good. Another 17 percent rate their police service as only fair and 5 percent give it a poor rating.

Past poll readings found about 1-in-4 residents giving the top rating of "excellent" to their police force (27 percent in 1993 and 25 percent in 1984). Suburban residents (38 percent) are twice as likely as urban residents (19 percent) to give the top rating of excellent. Furthermore, nearly 4-in-10 urban residents give a negative rating of only fair (33 percent) or poor (5 percent).

Currently, just over 4-in-10 New Jersey residents say that crime in their neighborhoods is a problem, including 11 percent who say it is a very serious problem and 32 percent who say it is somewhat serious. The 43 percent who say crime is a problem is similar to the 38 percent measured in the last poll reading on this question in 1995. However, the current number is lower than prior readings in the 1980s and early 1990s. Residents of New Jersey's urban communities are more likely than suburbanites to say crime is a problem. Specifically, 26 percent of urban residents say neighborhood crime is a very serious problem where they live compared to 6 percent of residents in older towns and 3 percent in newer suburbs.

Fresh on the heels of the State Police's triennial gang report, the pollsters asked New Jerseyans about the perceptions of gangs in their towns.

Overall, 3-in-10 say that gangs are currently active in their towns, including 12 percent who say there is a lot of gang activity and 19 percent who say there is just a little. Another 52 percent say there is no gang activity in their town and 16 percent are unsure. The results are similar to a poll taken in 2007.

The poll finds that many New Jerseyans are unaware of the possibility of gangs in their cities and towns. In towns the State Police identifies as having gang activity, only 43 percent of those residents say they are aware of the activity. Another 41 percent inaccurately believe that there is no gang activity in their town and 16 percent are unsure.

There is a stark urban-suburban divide in awareness among residents who live in towns identified as having gangs. Residents in urban cities with gang activity (57 percent) are the most likely to be aware of gangs. Those living in older towns and suburbs (42 percent) are somewhat less likely, and those living in newer suburbs and rural areas with active gangs (23 percent) are the least likely to be aware of those gangs.

Despite the greater lack of awareness in the suburbs, 7-in-10 New Jerseyans disagree with the premise that gang violence is mainly an urban problem that does not affect the suburbs.

About 1-in-3 residents (37 percent) are worried that a member of their family will become the victim of gang violence. This is down from 46 percent who held that fear in 2007. This concern ranges from 50 percent of urban residents to 36 percent of older town residents and 29 percent of newer suburb residents.

The poll was conducted by telephone with 801 New Jersey adults from Feb. 2 to 7. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM