When we talk about maintaining services in town, public safety is a critical component. As a small town, Delran faces big challenges. A strong relationship with our law enforcement officers is vital to public safety, which requires respect, trust and open communication and support.
In the last four years, we have worked closely with Delran Police to address the concerns of residents and ensure positive relationships between our officers and our Delran family.
Part of the challenge of the COVID pandemic was keeping our police force healthy and available so that we could avoid staffing shortages. By isolating shifts, we were able to keep our officers fully available and safe. Additionally, as many of our officers have been approaching retirement age; we have worked closely with the police to celebrate those officers and their service and carefully continued hiring new officers at the same staffing rate. There was minimal loss felt in the number of available officers and overtime costs were kept to a minimum. Through diligent efforts by the police chief and sound financial budgeting practices, Delran was able to accomplish this without raising taxes during the last 5 years.
A multitude of issues present themselves, especially speeding and accidents. To address the many traffic and speeding issues around town, we have removed traffic impediments, added movable and permanent speed monitoring signs, and added traffic calming methods like speed tables and chicanes to reduce speed at high pedestrian areas.
The Route 130 corridor brings with it concerns as we all navigate through the opioid epidemic. While opioid use is a concern everywhere, we have been fortunate to have officers who have a phenomenal dedication to outreach. Encouraging our officers to specialize in community driven outreach programs such Straight to Treatment has helped us provide accessible services to our residents, benefiting those residents and families affected by addiction issues.
When Mayor Catrambone and Councilman Jeney took office four years ago, one of the concerns of public safety was inclusivity and diversity. For us to serve our community, our law enforcement officers must reflect that community. We now have officers who speak English, Turkish and Portuguese which has led to improved relations between our police and our residents.
Additionally, we are all aware that “Boom Cars” have been an ongoing disturbance to our quiet enjoyment living in the Rivertowns. We continue to work with state officials, our police department and Philadelphia police districts to develop a process for dealing with these noisy nuisances.
