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December 20, 2005

250 employees trained to spot and report emergencies, possible crimes

Two hundred fifty Woodbridge Township employees have recently completed a training course designed to make them more alert to crime and other suspicious activity while on the job, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.

Middlesex County on Patrol (MCOP) is the state's first countywide program to utilize public works personnel to help protect the health, safety and property of county residents. MCOP was initiated by Middlesex County Freeholder H. James Polos and prepared in cooperation with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association and the NJ Transit Police.

MCOP utilizes sanitation workers, road repair crews and other mobile municipal and county workers as an extended crime watch force during the early dawn and daytime hours when many residents are asleep or at work. If a worker sees a crime or suspicious activity – or an accident, fire or hazardous road condition – they now have a protocol to make a report to law enforcement authorities.

“These extra eyes and ears are a definite benefit to our residents and an aid to our regular public safety personnel,” says Mayor Pelzman.

Woodbridge Township employees who received MCOP training were drawn from several departments including Sanitation/Recycling, Building and Grounds, Streets and Sewers, Equipment Repair, Engineering and Parks.