New Brunswick Police Department Announces New Anti-Crime Programs

New Brunswick Police Director Anthony Caputo announced Tuesday that the department is expanding anti-crime measures in New Brunswick with the establishment of a Neighborhood Police Team, new surveillance cameras on city streets and a gun buy-back program.

The initiatives target the Unity Square neighborhood of the city's Second Ward, where 18 shootings were documented in November, Caputo said.

The Unity Square neighborhood includes Throop Avenue, Seaman Street and Remsen Avenue.

“This area far exceeds other areas within the city,” Caputo said in a press released issued by the police department on Tuesday.

Additional surveillance cameras will be installed in the Throop Avenue and Remsen Avenue corridors to potentially capture footage of crimes as they happen, the release said.

The cameras are to be funded through a grant from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The Neighborhood Police Team will consist of a team of uniformed officers patrolling neighborhoods on foot, in police cruisers, by bicycle and by motorcycle, the release said.

Additionally, those officers will be available to attend community meetings to discuss crime with residents and strengthen police and community relationships, according to the release.

"If a strong partnership can be developed between officers and residents, we are confident the needs and concerns of the community can be successfully addressed in a proactive and streamlined manner,” Caputo said.

The department has also reinstated its , and has nine applicants currently in training, the release said.

Auxiliary Police Unit participants are volunteer community residents who assist the police force with duties like crowd control at larger events. The unit is also meant to serve as a bridge between the police department and the neighborhoods.

Caputo also announced that the department will be beginning a buy back program for guns, starting this spring.

Organized in cooperation with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the program will permit residents to voluntarily surrender firearms to police without any questions asked, the release said.They will receive cash in return for their weapon.

According to the release, 27 guns have been recovered and removed from New Brunswick streets by city police officers since this past September.

“These arrests and gun recoveries are a direct result of the proactive efforts of the Street Crimes Unit, the Anti-Crime Unit and adjusted patrol strategies used to concentrate efforts on the recent problems within the Remsen and Throop Avenue corridors and its neighborhoods,” Caputo said.

The city is also looking to expand on its Police Chaplain program, the release said.

"A team of police chaplains will work to build a relationship and foster a better understanding of the challenges faced by today’s officers and the concerns of the communities they represent," the release said.

The police force and religious leaders in the city are currently working together on that project, the release said.

Lastly, the police department's Internal Affairs Unit has been restructured, and is working with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office to investigate complaints.

The former supervising Sergeant of the Internal Affairs department was on charges of mishandling 81 Internal Affairs complaints over five years.

Internal Affairs complaints must now be reviewed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office as part of each investigation before they can be closed.

Information regarding Internal Affairs complaints filed against the department is now posted on the department's website.