Camden To Replace Municipal Cops with County Officers

Camden, N.J., Mayor Dana Redd is pressing forward with a county takeover of policing to address a crime spike that followed police layoffs.

The city will begin negotiating the terms of a formal agreement with Camden County to set up a regional force spanning the city and suburbs. In recent months, questions have arisen about the city's ability to police itself.

Camden, which is still one of America's highest-crime areas, has seen a sharp rise in crime this year. Homicides have risen 30 percent and burglaries have climbed by more than 40 percent. The crime wave follows the layoff of more than half of Camden's 370-officer force earlier this year. The city has hired back some of the laid-off officers using grants.

On Monday, Gov. Chris Christie sent New Jersey State Police troopers to the city as reinforcements. In May, Camden's police union president received a memo outlining a timetable for the dismantling of the agency in favor of county law enforcement.