Earlier this week, Trenton police implemented a new “specialized street crime unit” aimed at replacing the department’s Tactical Anti-Crime unit that was disbanded in December 2012.
“The big difference between this new unit and the previous TAC unit is that TAC had no general order laying out its function, duties, responsibilities and tactics,” Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said Tuesday evening. “This new unit has a mission with clearly defined tactics and techniques.”
The new yet-to-be-named unit consists of two squads, with eight officers assigned to each squad. And one officer on each squad has a K-9 partner. These 16 officers, Rivera said, were already assigned to TPD’s Patrol Division. “This is a unit within the patrol,” Rivera said.
Rivera said he disbanded the previous TAC unit because he felt there was no general order and the unit did not practice “intelligence-led policing.” But the new unit, Rivera said, will be deployed to targeted high-crime areas.
“The deployment of personnel will be strategic,” Rivera said.
Director Rivera announced the new street crime unit at Tuesday’s city council meeting and said the unit was created in response to “significant challenges being presented by violent and property crimes.” And the unit will have “multi-functional responsibilities,” Rivera said.
“They’re going to have a little bit more responsibility than the old tactical unit,” Rivera said.
Not only will the new unit prevent quality of life offenses, conduct street surveillance on drug activity and deter violent criminal behavior, the new street crime unit will also perform DUI checkpoints, traffic stops and other patrol duties when needed. And the officers, Rivera said, will use “aggressive patrol techniques” with a “proactive and zero tolerance approach.”
“This unit will be able to hit the streets and stabilize those high-crime corners, and stop and challenge youth just to make sure there’s no criminal activity going on,” Rivera said. “We want them to be aggressive, but yet respectful of peoples rights. We’re not asking officers to violate anyone’s rights, but I do want officers to get out of their cars and challenge individuals in the street to keep the city safe for the citizens.”
Rivera said he plans to keep the new street crime unit for at least a year to measure the plan’s effectiveness. He also anticipates hiring 20 more police officers by the summer.