ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — A federal grant of $3.75 million will allow Atlantic City to add 30 full-time officers to its police department. The city’s police chief says they will be working as school resource and traffic safety officers.
The money comes from a Community Oriented Policing Services grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Atlantic City Police Chief James Sarkos says they will be adding some school resource officers. The school resource officers, Sarkos says, are going to help build a strong relationship with students and protect them from violence as much as possible.
They are also adding traffic officers on motorcycles to patrol, with a focus on Atlantic and Pacific avenues, two of the most dangerous roads in South Jersey.
“We envision them being back on the Harley Davidson motorcycles doing traffic enforcement in Atlantic City, especially on Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue, where we’ve had some issues in the past with those roadways being very dangerous,” Sarkos said.
“What we’ve seen is, it seems like, ever since COVID, individuals have been a little careless with their driving habits. We’ve seen individuals running red lights, stop signs, speeding. And that’s what those officers will be out there to enforce. Strict enforcement of traffic laws.”
The majority of the 30 positions will be filled by current class-two officers, who will be promoted to full time. But the department is looking to hire more people, and anyone interested can find more information on the Atlantic City Police Department website.