Camden, New Jersey, one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S’s police department is being shut down due to budget cuts. Click below for the story.
Camden, N.J., consistently ranked among the 10 most dangerous cities in the U.S., is losing its police department in an attempt to shave millions of dollars from its budget.
The city is not becoming a completely lawless land. It will be under the jurisdiction of a new, non-union division of the Camden County Police.
Camden Fraternal Order of Police President John Williamson told FOXNews.com that the move is “definitely a form of union-busting.â€
Fewer than half of the 460 officers of the Camden Police Department will transfer to the new county division. Laid-off officers will be training their county “Metro Division†replacements, according to Williamson.
The state of New Jersey has been in charge of the Camden police force since 2005, at the request of then-Mayor Gwendolyn Faison, who was in conflict with the department.
Gov. Chris Christie said the transition will actually “provide a huge increase in the number of police officers on the streets†in Camden. “I’m willing to put my name on the line for this concept,†he declared during an event at Rutgers-Camden University.
But Williamson told FOXNews.com that county-level enforcement is “unproven and untested.â€
Joseph Eisenhardt, police chief in nearby Barrington, said other cities in Camden County are concerned that crime-ridden Camden will drain the county’s law enforcement resources.
“It’s a disaster waiting to happen,†he said.
In 2008, Camden had 2,333 violent crimes per 100,000 people – more than five times the national average – according to a report from the Courier Post.
