$150k dedicated to fight transient crime on South Jersey's River Line

SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Officials in South Jersey are dedicating $150,000 to a program they say will help keep their light rail system clear of transient crime, which they say is on the rise in a number of River Line towns.

Bordentown City Police Chief Shaun Lafferty, who is also president of the Burlington County Association of Police Chiefs, says local authorities are seeing an increase in criminal activity at or near NJ Transit River Line light rail stations.

“We’re concerned about the increasing number of incidents that were occurring in our River Line communities from the light rail, and impact of the ongoing cleanup of the Kensington section of Philadelphia, a well-known haven for many who are lost in addiction,” Lafferty said.

However, officials didn’t have specific details on the magnitude of the problem.

Burlington County Commissioner Allison Eckel says they are lending a hand to the small-town police forces along the River Line that are short on officers and resources.

“Earlier this month, the sheriff began deploying teams of his officers to River Line towns at designated hours to help patrol around River Line stations and nearby neighborhoods,” she said.

“The additional officers create a more visible police presence at and near the stations to help deter crime and act as a force multiplier for local police departments.”

In addition, Eckel said, at these designated times, sheriff officers are available to take criminal suspects from those small-town police departments, where they are processed following arrests, to the Burlington County Detention Center in Mt. Holly.

“Providing this prisoner transport saves local police time and resources and allows their officers to return to patrol and other investigations,” Eckel said.

Officials say this program, which stretches from Palmyra to Bordentown, goes a long way toward keeping officers on the streets and protecting communities.