Citizens Tour Police Offices, Jail, Interrogation Room

Citizens’ Police Academy students closed themselves in jail cells, searched through weapons closets, and gawked at an office full of model cars during a Cranford Police Department tour Wednesday night.

Led by Lt. Robert Colaneri and Detective Sgt. Craig Marino, the tour led students through the police wing portion of the municipal building and across Springfield Avenue to the juvenile bureau.

Some of the tour highlights included the police arsenal room, where officers clean and store weapons (the .45 Thompson is the weapon of choice, as well as older models) and ammunition; the municipal courtroom, where the judge is protected by officers at all times; the communications center, where all surveillance and patrol car footage, 911 calls, and patrol car GPS locations are monitored.

They also got to see the processing/booking room, where officers take their newly arrested individuals for testing and holding. There they take fingerprints and mug shots, and hold the individual in a cell while they complete the required paperwork.

Cranford police offer a small collection of jail cells for rowdy individual or for those who the county jail system cannot hold. Unlike the reaction of their intended occupants, these jail cells were filled with students moments after their introduction.

Colaneri took pride in presenting “our little museum." The museum consisted of a hallway decorated with an old patrol box and photographs of Cranford police officers from decades past. One such photograph, Colaneri said, was of his great-grandfather.

Students then entered the conference room. Used for interrogations and detective interviews, this room is under video and audio surveillance at all times.

Marino talked the group through the functions of the records bureau. Among the duties were OPRA requests, dog licensing, fingerprinting and parking permits (residential and commuting).

The functions of the records division brought $482,891.21 in total revenue to the department in 2008.

He explained that the records committee works closely with other police divisions to compile discovery video and audio footage for investigations and court cases, to store all police reports, assign new employee identification numbers and security access, among other department needs.

“Every division can’t work on its own. Everyone works with everyone else,” said Marino. “Nothing could get done if we didn’t.”

The traffic division office sported walls covered in police car models. A traffic signal flashed red, yellow, green from the far corner.  The back wall featured a large winged wheel and arrow emblem.

“These traffic guys love their toys,” said Colaneri. “Lt. Joe VanBergen collects model police cars. When he got married his wife said ‘it’s me or the cars’ so they ended up here.”

 The tour then moved outside the municipal building, across Springfield Avenue, to the juvenile bureau above the Beyond Dance studios in the Cleveland Plaza.

“We try to keep juveniles separate from the jail cells and other criminals because we believe there’s a chance to rehabilitate them,” said Colaneri. “The bad kids that steal cars and stuff go to the regular office. But we don’t want to scare the kids.”

“Scare the bejeezus out of them,” said one student as the group left the office.

The session concluded with a presentation on the auxiliary police force. Read about it here.

Meetings are held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the municipal building unless otherwise noted. However the current class is full.

Contact Lt. Robert Colaneri at 908-709-7358 for more information.