In mending this gap, the department is implementing an electronic eye program, as well as other social events.
As wedges widened between communities and police forces across the nation, the Winslow Township Police Department has been cultivating efforts to reduce conflicts in South Jersey.
The department is localizing the national issue by establishing informal social activities for cops and neighbors, while including locals in combating crime.
“In the whole wave of where policing has come in the last couple of years, and the public sentiment toward us, this is just a way of us trying to bridge gaps and start relationships in a nonformal setting,” said Lt. Christopher Dubler, who has been on the force for two decades.
Over the past few years, the department kicked off “Coffee with a Cop” at various businesses across the township, including McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. The gathering strives to bridge gaps by allowing locals to converse with cops in a causal manner, complaining, explaining or merely venting about any issues they see and hear.
Since the kick off of “Coffee with a Cop,” the department has been inaugurating similar mixers. In July, the police partnered with Spalding to donate basketballs and footballs to kids playing on courts and fields around town.
“Nine times out of 10, when we’re around, it’s in a negative, stressful time in their life,” Dubler said. “At least if it’s at their pace, at their time, we’re hoping that can help.”
In the next month, the department will host a “Cone with a Cop,” which is set for Sept. 15 at Cold Cow on 24 N. Route 73 in Cedar Brook, and the first annual “Cops and Bobbers,” set for Oct. 14 at. Oak Pond, located at 220 Blue Anchor Road in Sicklerville.
“Seeing us in a T-shirt and shorts rather than a uniform kind of knocks down that barrier that much more,” Dubler said.
The inauguration of these activities align with the recent implementation of the force’s Electronic Eye, or W.E.E. Program, which began on Aug. 23.
When a 78-year-old woman was struck in her neck and robbed on July 21 in Sicklerville, the footage was caught on a resident’s security camera, which led to the suspect’s capture, and the impetus behind the program. Under this installment, residents and business owners can volunteer the existence of their personal surveillance systems online at www.winslowpolice.com. or through a hard-copy application, which can be retrieved at the station.
“We hope it’ll help us solve crimes quicker and easier. We’re hoping it can deter crime, but also help relationships with the community,” Dubler said. “So, people can feel comfortable with us, allowing us access to their systems.”
After the locations are logged in the database, the force can reach out to registrants via telephone or email if a crime takes place in an area where the cameras possibly captured evidence. A standard message may ask citizens to check their video surveillance for a specific date, time, suspect or car.
The directory would not give officers access to private cameras but merely an indication of their locations.
“There’s only 74 of us, “ Dubler said. “So, we need the eyes and ears of the entire community.”
