Police Overtime Costs Rise as Manpower Drops

Overtime costs in the Fair Lawn Police Department are up 65 percent since 2007.

This article is the first in a series about the largely unseen effects of the police department's low staffing levels -- With the recent resignation of Officer Juan Rodriguez, Fair Lawn’s police force is again operating at 54 officers -- 10 fewer than it had in 2009, when an analysis determined the staff was undermanned compared to other police departments in the county and state.  Despite the dwindling force levels, Fair Lawn’s crime rate – as reported monthly in department-submitted Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) -- has declined markedly over the past five years. The reduced crime rate, while significant, also masks some of the more insidious effects that low police force levels have had on the department and the borough as a whole – …

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Jenne

9:58 am on Friday, July 20, 2012

Nope, Michael, what Zak quoted in the last pool article was "In March, Deputy Mayor Ed Trawinski said he thought it cost the borough between $600,000 and $750,000 annually to run the pool." Zak also quoted the number of "almost $280,000" for the revenues. So, Trawinski pulled this number from where? In the March article, it said "The borough doesn't break out the actual costs to operate the pool …   more ›

Fair Lawn Police Officer Promoted to Sergeant

Lonnie Mergler's promotion will be announced at Tuesday's council meeting

Lonnie Mergler, a 16-year member of the Fair Lawn Police Department, will be promoted to Sergeant following Tuesday night's Borough Council meeting. Mergler, 45, grew up in Fair Lawn and lived in the borough until he was 30. He began as a police dispatcher in 1990, and became an officer in 1995. He's been acting as the supervisor of a patrol shift for over a year, but is now set to receive the actual Sergeant title. Sgt. Mergler is in charge of the police department's communications systems, and has worked performing the necessary communications systems purchasing, programming, installation and maintenance. He's also a field training officer and a bicycle officer.

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Fair Lawn Police to Add 2 Officers

The new hires will bring the force level from 54 to 56

Two new police officers will join the Fair Lawn Police Department next week, Chief Erik Rose said. Juan Rodriguez and Luke Hintzen will be sworn in as Fair Lawn police officers at Tuesday's council meeting and begin their duties either Tuesday or Wednesday morning next week. Both men worked previously for the Paterson Police Department. The hires will bring the police force levels to 56, although Rose said the effective number will be 55 temporarily until a replacement for an officer who retired earlier this month is found. As recently as late 2009, the Fair Lawn Police Department had 64 officers, but layoffs and retirements have reduced the staff in recent years. A state police study that used staffing data from late 2009, found that Fair…

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Don't Jump to Conclusions About Crime Rates, Police Advise

According to the Uniform Crime Report released last week by the Attorney General, index crimes hit a decade-low in Fair Lawn in 2010

News that Fair Lawn experienced a decade-low rate of index crime in 2010 may serve as confirmation to residents who already feel safe in town. Just like data from the same report showing that burglaries and domestic violence cases rose significantly in 2010 may give credence to residents who already perceive Fair Lawn to be a more dangerous place than in the past. The same set of raw numbers, when crunched, may end up yielding entirely different conclusions based on who’s doing the interpreting. It’s all about the personal perceptions and biases that residents bring into the situation, Fair Lawn Police Chief Erik Rose said. Statistics are helpful, he said, as long as you recognize the inherent variations from year to year.  “Years when …

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Police Officer Sues Borough For Worker's Comp

Sgt. Michael Messina filed a lawsuit against the borough alleging it maliciously denied his worker's compensation claim