Enthusiastic officials: New communications system will be lifesaver

Jersey City officials say the new communications system they are putting into place will allow police, fire and emergency service personnel to talk to one another seamlessly, solving a problem that was made painfully clear during the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The city will be in a much better position to have all the public safety services communicate," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said last month at a groundbreaking ceremony for the $22.5 million facility, which will be built on a vacant three-quarters of an acre at Cornelison Avenue and Bishop Street.

A builder will be selected this month and the facility will take two years to build, city officials said.

The new facility will also give supervisors the ability to watch streaming video of an incident as it unfolds, officials said.

"This building will some day save lives," said Police Chief Tom Comey.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, who along with then-Rep. Robert Menendez and others helped secure the federal grant in 2002, promised "more (money) to come."

"The first job of government is to protect the people," Rothman said.

KEN THORBOURNE

TROY'S PAYDAY

Pension, county job add up for ex-chief

Former Jersey City Police Chief Robert Troy, who has gone from fighting crime to pushing pencils as a $70,000 a year confidential aide in Hudson County government, is also raking in $96,200 a year in pension, according to government records.

Troy was chief from December 2004 to July 1 of this year at a salary of $148,176, and at retirement he received a payout of $147,958 for unused sick days, holidays and vacation time, according to state and city records. In addition to his tenure as chief, Troy served on the police department for just under 24 years.

Troy makes $70,000 a year as an aide in the county Department of Administration and Finance and is also the top candidate for a high ranking job in the Hudson County Sheriff's Office, officials said.

With his county job, he has an annual income in retirement greater than that of the highest law enforcement official in the county, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio, who makes about $141,000 a year.

Attempts to reach Troy last night were unsuccessful.

In his current job he looks for ways to cut overtime and deploy staff, which he gained experience in as police chief, according to Jim Kennelly, spokesman for Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise.

"The county executive is pleased to have him on board," said Kennelly.

Troy is on a very short list to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of Sheriff's Office Chief Warrant Officer John Curran, Hudson County Sheriff Joseph Cassidy said.

Cassidy said in the next few months he will make a decision on who will fill the post, which also pays around $70,000 a year. Troy would be outranked by the sheriff and under-sheriffs.

Troy is also doing research for Cassidy on the feasibility of starting a county police academy, which would be used to train officers for Hudson County's municipal police departments and for Sheriff's officers, Cassidy said.

If he were to be named chief warrant officer, Troy would command the Sheriff's Office's detective bureau and oversee the execution of arrest warrants, the transportation of prisoners to treatment facilities and the extradition of fugitives to Hudson County.

The Sheriff's Office cleared about 6,000 criminal arrest warrants last year, including making more than 3,000 arrests. The office extradited 172 prisoners to Hudson County.

Journal staff writer Jarrett Renshaw contributed to this report

CHIEF COMEY

Jersey City Police Lt. Tom Comey will be sworn in today as the new police chief at a ceremony at the South District station, where he worked as district commander earlier in his career, police sources said yesterday.

Comey has been the chief of staff for Police Chief Robert Troy, who announced his retirement Tuesday after 22 months as the city's top cop.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said he believes Mayor Jerramiah Healy's expected appointment of Comey is a good choice.

"I had a meeting with Lt. Comey early this week and I was impressed with his vision for the Police Department," DeFazio said. "He told me he plans to stay for a number of years in the position of chief, and I believe that continuity in office is very desirable."

A spokesman for Healy, Stan H. Eason, said the mayor would not comment.

DeFazio said he worked with Comey in the late 1990s, when he was the county's first assistant prosecutor and Comey was South District commander. DeFazio characterized the working relationship as "very open and cooperative."

Harry Sandwith, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, said he's worked with Comey a long time and predicted he will be easier to work with than Troy.

"I think he's a very fair guy and I think he's more of a street cop than Chief Troy was, and that's good," Sandwith said. "I've had some conversations with (Comey) and I'm sure we are going to be able to work a lot better with Chief Comey then Chief Troy."

Troy could not be reached last night to respond to Sandwith's comments.

Asked if the new chief should have been chosen from among officers at a rank higher than lieutenant, Sandwith said it isn't an issue. He noted that one former director of the department was only a sergeant.

The swearing-in ceremony is at 4 p.m. at the police station, at 191 Bergen Ave.

Jersey City may be getting violent crime impact team

One or more federal Violent Crime Impact Teams might be coming to Jersey City next year, following a promise made on the floor of the House of Representatives last week.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, whose district includes parts of Hudson County, secured an "on the record" promise from Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., to direct one or more of the 15 teams funded by his committee to focus on New Jersey, specifically Jersey City and Newark.

"Violent crime is on the rise for the first time in 15 years, but families in Newark and Jersey City don't need a report to tell them that fact," Rothman said Wednesday. "While today's promise from Chairman Wolf is just that: a promise, it is my expectation that he will keep his word, put his muscle behind this issue."

Each team consists of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals and federal prosecutors, working with state and local prosecutors and police to reduce violent crime in targeted areas.

Nationally, the violent crime rate is 478 crimes per 100,000 people, but preliminary data from the FBI for 2005 shows rates for Jersey City and Newark are 1,302 and 1,008 violent crimes per 100,000 people, respectively. In 2005, violent crime rose more in Jersey City than in any other major city in the state. The city last year had 39 homicides, the most since 1982.

During a back-and-forth with Wolf on the floor of the House, Rothman outlined the toll violent crime has taken in New Jersey, especially in Newark and Jersey City. Afterward, Rothman asked: "Mr. Chairman, will you work with me to direct one or more of the Violent Crime Impact Teams to these areas of New Jersey?"

Wolf replied: "I completely agree with what (Rothman) said. I appreciate his efforts to combat violent crime and am happy to do everything I can to work with the gentleman (referring to Rothman) and the ATF to address the crime in New Jersey."

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said the help would be appreciated.

"Through the years we have had a partnership with the ATF, the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark," he said.

The only Violent Crime Impact Team currently assigned to New Jersey is in Camden.

Yes to photo radar for New Jersey

A bill that would repeal a 14-year-old ban on the use of photo radar devices to enforce traffic laws in New Jersey has been approved by an Assembly committee and is in position for a vote of the full Assembly. It's a good bill and should be enacted.

The measure, A-2064, is sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough. He introduced it after a camera linked to a radar gun caught his car traveling 41 mph in a 25-mph zone in Washington, D.C., where he had gone for a class reunion at Catholic University, and he was mailed a $100 speeding ticket. Photo radar is also used in Scottsdale, Ariz., and other jurisdictions, and has been used in Europe for many years.

The purpose of photo radar and other AMVIS (automated motor vehicle identification systems) is to save lives by deterring speeding, red-light running and other reckless practices. Live police are available to patrol only a small number of danger spots, and AMVIS greatly extend the reach of law-enforcement surveillance.

Critics of photo radar and related technology claim that the real reason towns and counties use it is to increase their revenue from traffic fines, and that most of the tickets are sent to out-of-towners whose complaints can safely be disregarded by local politicians. That's a valid concern, and any state authorizing the use of AMVIS should closely monitor the administration of the law to ensure that it's done fairly. Others challenge the accuracy of the cameras; the proper response is to ensure that the equipment is tested rigorously and regularly. But the unstated attitude of many critics seems to be that it's all right to speed and run red lights if you don't get caught, and that AMVIS are a sneaky and unchivalrous way to catch violators. This makes no sense. Unsafe drivers pose a risk to the lives of everyone else who uses the highways.

This bill is neither unreasonable nor arbitrary. A town or county can use AMVIS only in places where it can be documented that fatal accidents or a high number of traffic infractions have occurred. Signs notifying motorists that photo radar is in use must be placed in a manner approved by the state commissioner of transportation and installed at least a week before the technology is activated. No person may be convicted of speeding by AMVIS unless he or she was traveling at least nine miles over the speed limit. The fine for a violation may not exceed $54, and no points may be assessed for a conviction. Fines collected must be used to promote traffic safety or prosecute traffic-law violators.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This edited opinion appeared Thursday in The Times of Trenton.