Police Chief Responds to Nationwide Calls for Reform

COURT HOUSE – As America celebrated Juneteenth (June 19), a holiday recognizing the two-years late end of slavery in Texas, it was also experiencing a monumental time of social and political upheaval.
Protests sparked by George Floyd’s death swept the nation, and Cape May County, for weeks; peaceful protests in Wildwood, Rio Grande, and Court House ran under the mantra: “Enough is Enough!”
Nationally, calls for change include demands for police-worn body cameras, limitations on use-of-force, a national registry for police offenses, and an allocation of funds away from police budgets and towards community-based initiatives.
That last reform item is often referred to, on social media, as a movement to “Defund the Police,” a somewhat misleading moniker. Many protestors feel police departments are overfunded at the expense of local education initiatives and community-based organizations; the intention is not always to defund police departments and do away with them entirely. 
Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner agrees that investing in community problem-oriented policing efforts and funding is just as, if not more important than, investing time, resources, and funding into local police departments.
Community problem-oriented policing is a preventative strategy where officers and social workers become involved with broader aspects of community. Strategies like that seek to stop crime before it happens and strengthen trust between policemen and their communities.
In a phone interview, he said, “I’m a big believer in community problem-oriented policing. You go back and look at my budget proposal and our annual reports, which are on our website (https://bit.ly/3evlTCA). If you believe in community-oriented policing, you need to be focused and funding resources not only in enforcing efforts, but also in intervention efforts and education efforts. You should be putting as much money, if not more, into those places.”
That sentiment is similar, in many ways, to the motivations behind the “Defund the Police” movement; many within the movement feel that investments in the community’s social, educational and rehabilitation programs are stilted because police budgets are too large.
Many argue that policemen are not invested or involved enough in their community to serve its best good. Leusner said that it’s not an “either/or” situation, but implied that many across the nation have not made significant enough investments into their communities.
He said, “We are fortunate here in Middle Township where the (Middle Township) Committee understands this and funds those initiatives, but the cities and governments across the country have to realize that making an investment in education and community-based intervention is important, but it’s not an either/or. You need the police, and you need the social service agencies together. You can’t cut the police and say that social services can handle everything; that’s not going to work. It needs to be both.”
Leusner gave examples of programs that take place in the Middle Township Police Department, including police-youth engagement programs and vast collaboration with community programs and sectors. He said, “Using these prevention efforts, that is where we can really make an impact. It’s complex social issues we are dealing with as police; we didn’t create them, and we don’t have the ability to solve them, but we do have a significant role to play with cross-sector collaboration to make a difference in our community. I believe every police department can and should do that.”
Even in areas where Leusner believes much of the nation needs to improve, he sees places where progress is being made. He listed many initiatives and reform items supported by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the world’s largest professional association for police leaders.
Among the items are “the adoption of a national consensus policy on the use of force, mandatory participation in a database on the use of force, so it can be tracked. Across the county, a development of a national set of standards for discipline and termination of officers. The development of a police officer decertification database and enhanced police leadership culture. Implement improved recruiting, hiring and promotion practices that enhance the ability of police agencies to implement effective disciplines…”
Leusner also mentioned that, on a local level, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police supports a police-licensing program that ensures “officers who may have a serious history of disciplinary issues can’t just leave from one agency to another.”
He said that Middle Township goes “above and beyond what is required” for police training; every officer in Middle Township receives rigorous implicit-bias training.
He said that “all our officers have been trained in how to deal with mental health crises; people that may be suffering from mental illness.”
Middle Township Police Department also utilizes a use-of-force simulation program that “immerses officers in stressful environments, induces the physiological responses in the body when they are under very stressful situations and improves their performance.
“Every other profession uses simulators to improve performance and prepare folks to go into their respective careers… I’m proud to say we have only one of two in the state right now. That’s something that should be more across the state and across the country.”
Leusner sees Middle Township Police Department as a leader in many ways when it comes to a holistic incorporation of community and police. His philosophy seems to be that respect and order within the community towards police is earned and not necessarily implicit; departments can’t operate with the assumption that incoming police officers lack racial bias, know how to handle mental-health situations, or know how to effectively use verbal de-escalation tactics. These must be taught and implemented into police departments.
“Community problem-oriented policing is not a program. It’s a philosophy,” said Leusner. “It’s how you view your role in the criminal justice system, how you view your role as a police department and in your community with the goal of public safety for all.
“That’s our philosophy here in Middle Township. I know there are departments who share that philosophy, but I think there are opportunities for that type of mindset to spread.”