New Law Expands Hiring Possibilities For Moorestown Police

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown Council made it easier for the Moorestown Police Department to fill a position it’s been looking to fill for a while.

Council unanimously passed a resolution to opt-in to a process that allows police to hire an officer that has not taken the civil service exam in certain situations when it met Monday night.

The recently passed state law allows towns to hire police officers who have not taken the civil service exam, but are otherwise qualified, as long as they have completed training and hold a valid NJ Police Training Commission Certificate as a Police Officer.

Any entry-level law enforcement officer is exempt from taking the civil service exam as long as they have completed the full Basic Course for Police Officers training course at a school approved and authorized by the New Jersey Police Training Commission.

The municipality must also have policies concerning conflicts of interest and nepotism, which Moorestown has.

The adoption of the resolution allows Moorestown to widen its pool of qualified candidates, Police Chief Lee Lieber said.

During budget discussions earlier this year, Lieber said the number of officers has been reduced from 39 in the early part of the 2000s to 33 now. He said the police department has had a difficult time hiring officers due to the national labor shortage.

That shortage has hit police departments particularly hard, since fewer people are pursuing a career in law enforcement, Lieber said.

They've been using part-time special law enforcement officers (SLEOs) as a workaround. Read more here: Moorestown Tackling Staff Shortages In This Year’s Budget

During the pandemic, the police department was permitted to use two SLEOs as full-time officers, but are no longer allowed to do that. Those officers have gone on to full-time jobs elsewhere.

With the adoption of the state law and local resolution, Lieber said he would be able to hire these special officers to full-time positions quicker than the normal process involving the civil service test.

“It saves time and money,” said Lieber, who said the department is looking to hire one officer. “We hope to fill it quickly.”

Lieber has spoken to chiefs of police departments in other jurisdictions who have adopted this policy for guidance on how to navigate this new procedure.

“This is a positive, and it is going to be very helpful,” Lieber said.