Dear Editor:
As a resident of the city since 1977 and a business owner for the last 14 years, I’ve seen the city blossom with improvements in its schools, the reconstruction of much of its existing housing, the development of the waterfront and the opening of many new businesses. This change was helped along in part by a healthy economy for much of the past two decades. But it was also aided significantly by Hoboken’s reputation for safe streets.
I write this letter to argue for the retention of the entire Hoboken police force. The officers are better trained, better equipped and, I have noticed, friendlier and more professional than at any time in the last three decades. They seem to do much more than just chase criminals. Their presence in sufficient numbers makes it possible for a peaceful population of residents to exist alongside businesses that cater to visitors who know Hoboken offers a shore-town atmosphere with the best views of the New York skyline.
The planned layoffs of a dozen and a half officers will represent a waste of millions of dollars spent training them and will take off the streets officers who are part of classes of police recruits who carry a diversity and wisdom about the city’s young population that is unmatched. I imagine that any savings will be short lived because the city will soon realize that the demoralized police force left behind will need a fresh infusion of officers. Within a year or two, the city will have to recruit a class of new officers at an expense of millions of dollars. The savings to society represented by the layoffs will seem even smaller if people take into account that the government will have to pay all of them unemployment even while those officers who are retained must be paid more overtime to cover some of the work the laid off officers would have done before.
The more prudent course for the city would seem to be an across-the-board cutback of expenses, a freeze on hiring or perhaps a decision that some of the current budget surplus can be used to keep these officers while attrition reduces the size of the police force naturally.
Priti Chohan