Police Use Resources, Tech Training to Get To the Root of Crime

COURT HOUSE – Anyone who listens to Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner long enough will hear him utter the phrase “We can’t arrest our way out of this.”
It’s a phrase he uses when talking about shoplifting that plagues the Rio Grande merchant community as well as the heroin epidemic that has spread throughout Cape May County. 
Leusner is not implying that police in the township do not crack down on crime. What he means is that part of the police response must also be to get at the root causes of crime as well as building strong relationships with the community.
A comprehensive approach stands a better chance of success in reducing the crime rate. Tough enforcement is necessary, but building community trust is equally important, along with creating alternative paths to give options to individuals caught in the cycle of offense after offense.
With the support of Middle Township Committee, the police department has been able to recover from the manpower shortages imposed following the 2008 financial crisis.
The department is up to 48 full-time slots, still below its high of 52 but significantly above the low that crisis imposed of 42. The department also has authorization for seven Class II officers.
Leusner is the first to praise the job Class II officers do, but he also emphasizes that those officers free up full-time police from many routine tasks. They allow the department to concentrate full-time officers on more serious matters.
Fair, Impartial Police Training
The first place to look for improvements in policing is in the training program. Training for new recruits is arduous and comprehensive; requiring that a new hire is months away from actual police work. Even the Class II officers in Middle receive 80 percent of the training program required of full-time hires.
One new avenue of training getting underway across the county is termed “fair and impartial police training.” The approach has many expected benefits including improving police relationships with their communities, aiding officers in making better split-second decisions in action situations, and helping police to examine implicit biases that might unintentionally impact how they respond to situations.
Training in the new program began in October with a “train the trainer” process that lets each of the county’s municipalities get selected officers exposed to the program in ways that will allow them to then train others in their departments. 
A grant from the U. S. Department of Justice helped cover the expense.
The program represents a new way of thinking about the issue of biased policing based on the science of bias. The issue, one that has convulsed the nation in many ways in recent years, is, this new program asserts, rooted significantly in implicit bias rather than explicit forms of bias.
Based upon scientific research, the training helps officers confront implicit biases which can impact what people perceive and do.
Explicit bias is easier for police departments to identify and deal with. The nature of implicit bias, according to this science-based approach, is more insidious.
It can produce discriminatory results by working below the conscious awareness of individuals who sincerely feel they hold no prejudiced attitudes.
The program aims to surface bias as well as recognize and manage its impact. The three-day October training session at Cape May Convention Hall was for staff level officers.  It was followed earlier this month with a session for command-level personnel.
The program covered the effect implicit bias can have on community relationships, causing harm to the trust and confidence in police. It also went to the level of exposing how implicit bias can impact split-second decision making by officers, even in a shoot-no shoot scenario.
Tied into the program is a new simulator which will improve training for officers going through Cape May County Police Academy.
Leusner spoke of the high stress level that officers can experience in split-second action situations and lauds the program and the simulator because it can help officers better manage that stress and make high quality decisions.
Public Advocate Program
A significant amount of the crime experienced in the township has roots in the community’s drug problem. Increasing availability of cheap heroin, pathways to addiction through prescription narcotics, and other factors have led to alarming increases in drug crimes and overdoses.
One of the township’s responses has been a recently initiated advocate program.
The program places a drug counselor on staff for municipal court. Working on the theory that those suffering from addiction will likely surface in the municipal court system, the program aims to apply early intervention, providing assistance to many who would like to escape the life that drug dependence has imposed.
The program is paid by the township, with $20,000 allocated for 2015. Police believe that if it is successful it will “save money tenfold” in the future.
Staffed by Cape Assist of Wildwood, the program aims to provide defendants and their families with information about treatment options.
Data-Driven Crime Prevention
In 2013, Middle Township Police introduced new technology to aid law enforcement, DDACTS (Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Study).
The system correlates high traffic and high crime statistics to help police best use manpower for increased presence in certain areas. The intent is to have high visibility act as a deterrent, but it also puts officers near locations where they are most likely to be needed.
The township spans 72 square miles. The department has to work smart in determining the best way to utilize its manpower.
Technology offers insights into areas where alterations in signage and speed limits might lead to reductions in traffic crashes.
As technology identifies hot spots for traffic or crime problems, police patrols can step up their visibility. Police enforce laws throughout the township but benefit from being in the area where most offenses occur.
If police presence in one area causes a new hot spot to develop, technology will signal that as well.
When Leusner talks about the challenges facing township police, he usually gets around to the need “To think outside the box.”
Seeking ways to use training to better understand the psychology involved in situations may reduce the use of force and improve split-second decision making. Looking for ways to better use scarce resources by putting increased presence where most offenses occur may improve manpower usage and act as a deterrent to crime.
Aiding defendants who are drug addicted to get appropriate treatment may reduce recidivism.
Working to improve community relationships may improve the confidence of residents in their police department.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.