Mayor Proposes To Hire Class II Police Officers

In light of recent reports of and home invasions, the administration has proposed to hire Class II officers during busy weekends this summer to add to the amount of police officers in the street. Class II officers get paid $15 per hour, rather than the $65 hourly rate that Hoboken officers earn, according to a communcation from the mayor to the city council.

In the memo, the mayor wrote that this “cost-effective” measure will provide “significant additional security.” The Class II officers do not replace regular police, the mayor wrote also.  

In that same memo, the mayor also announced that the police department has seen more retirements than anticipated, causing a lower number of officers in the street.

"We will be hiring new police officers in order to maintain the staffing levels established last year," the mayor wrote. Last year, as part of a redeployment of the police. The mayor’s critics have said that the redeployment plan resulted in less cops in the street.

The amount of police in the street is one of the points of contention on the campaign trail for the city council elections on May 10. The redeployment plan was designed after the state that called for fewer police. The mayor's opponents have criticized the audit, because it's based on census numbers from 2000 when Hoboken had 38,000 residents.

First Ward Councilwoman Theresa Castellano responded to the mayor’s memo by saying that City Hall is trying to fight crime "on the cheap."

"Over the past several months, residents of the First ward have seen a marked increase in crime, including stabbings, armed robberies, home invasions and other violent crime," Castellano said in a press release. "For this administration to propose a special police program as an alternative to full-fledged police officers is not only inadequate, it’s simply callous."

Castellano, whose ward has the highest concentration of bars in town, has also proposed a zero tolerance policy all year round, much like the city enforces on

Before the special officers can be hired, the City Council has to approve the plan.