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DEAN'S LIST - 5/4/2008
(by Dean Naddeo - OpEd Columnist - May 04, 2008)
Reward program is worth a shot
For the 37,000 men and women in blue, the $10,000 reward offered by the newly created NJ COP SHOT program is a good start towards ending the rampant violence regularly directed towards New Jersey police officers.
In a press statement released at the end of the year, New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association President Anthony Weiners lamented the alarming rise of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2007, “Police officers are the dividing line between civilized society and anarchy. We as a society can not allow a 20 percent increase in officers killed in the line of duty to go unnoticed”.
In an effort to combat the increasing police violence, the NJ State PBA announced a new initiative, dubbed NJ COP SHOT, which went into effect on March 3rd. The program will provide a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who shoots a law enforcement officer in New Jersey. The program is modeled after the highly successful New York City initiative, and will be funded by private corporations like PSE&G and Verizon.
Unfortunately, since the program’s inception, shootings and violence directed at New Jersey’s cops has apparently increased. Just consider these two incidents from the last month alone:
On April 10, an Irvington Police detective with 25 years of service happened upon a robbery in-progress, and upon identifying himself as a police officer, was subsequently shot by the perpetrator. Miraculously, the detective managed to return fire and effectively ended the suspect’s reign of terror on this earth. This would also become the first case eligible for the $10,000 reward.
Then, less than two weeks later, Shaquan Johnson, 27, of Newark decided to go on a shooting spree that eventually left a college student dead and two other people injured. Amidst his rampage, the shooter apparently pulled along an Irvington Police Sergeant’s cruiser and informed him of a shooting that had just occurred. Johnson then shot the 24-year veteran point blank before fleeing the scene.
Sadly, a total of 177 law enforcement officers across the nation were killed in the line of duty in 2007. This is the highest total of cops killed since 1995, and if the recent Irvington incidents are any kind of indication, this number is likely to rise in 2008.
The decision to finally offer a cash reward for a suspect that shoots a cop is long overdue, and the NJ State PBA and the private companies funding it should be lauded for their initiative. However, the $10,000 reward may be too skimpy to generate the types of leads necessary to facilitate the swift apprehension of suspects, and to deter future assaults. In light of the fact that many of these shootings are gang related, this monetary incentive becomes meager in comparison to the threat of retaliation against a snitch’s family, and when compared to the income a gang member can make dealing drugs or stolen car parts.
It may then, become necessary to significantly increase the reward amount in order to ensure that the program achieves its desired effect- to help protect the men and women who risk their lives every day protecting the rest of us.
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