Special police officers sworn in May 18, 2015 in Brick. (Photo: Brick Twp. Police)
The Brick Township Police Department has sworn in eight new special police officers who will take over numerous duties within the department, officials said.
The eight Class I special officers, who have limited police powers and do not carry firearms, were sworn in Monday at the township municipal complex by Mayor John Ducey and Deputy Chief James Riccio.
The new officers are John Stephenson, Joseph Riccio, Austin Blanco, Megan Villani, David Kubiak, Joshua Alvarado, William Kirchoff and Robert Triano.
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The officers will handle specialized tasks including booking suspects after they are taken back to police headquarters following an arrest, and assisting with security during municipal court proceedings. Chief Nils R. Bergquist has said the hiring of special officers will help reduce the department’s overtime costs and free up regular officers to spend more time on the road and less time performing the administrative task of booking arrestees and standing watch over the municipal court room.
New Jersey began enforcing security regulations in municipal courts recently, at which point Brick was required to post officers at the court room to maintain security and operate metal detectors at the entrance to the court room.
The special officers will earn $18.87 per hour. Since Bergquist began focusing on reducing overtime costs in the department, the overtime budget has fallen by about $500,000. This year, the department is budgeting $1.2 million in overtime costs.
