Hamburg Police update

HAMBURG — The borough's police force has completed two-thirds of its long-awaited cruiser camera project. The two cameras were installed using a $17,000 grant from the Sussex County Prosecutor’s office. The grant covered the cost of the cameras’ installation and the computer software to run them, according to civilian police director Wayne Yahm.

The cost of the camera for the third cruisers — roughly $8,000 — will have to be paid for by the borough. That installation is currently in the works. At the April 2 council meeting when the project was initially brought to the mayor and council’s attention, Mayor Paul Marino said “getting grant money is key,” as the project had been on the “back burner” for a while due to monetary restraints.

In addition to monitoring what’s happening in and around the vehicle, the newly installed cameras will let the borough to know the exact whereabouts of each of its cruisers. So, if a borough resident calls and complains about a lack of police presence in their area, the department will be able to give the concerned citizen an exact time of the last patrol, Yahm explained. The system will also give the location of the cruiser should the officer lose contact with dispatch or have to move away from the vehicle on foot for any reason.

Bike patrols
Yahm’s second update at Monday night’s borough council meeting concerned the recent establishment of a bicycle patrol for community events: “The bike patrol is up and running and the officer was trained last week,” Yahm said. The bicycle patrol was an idea brought to Yahm by the borough’s uniformed officers. Yahm was happy to oblige their request because “the approval of officers’ ideas is good for troupe morale,” he said at the council’s June meeting. The bicycle patrol will complement regular community patrols during community events, such as the upcoming Hamburg Day in August.

Before the meeting was closed to the police director, the borough council gave him a round of congratulations on the June 13 graduation of the Junior Police Academy. Yahm said he was happy with the way the year ended and he’s already working on the schedule for next year’s program.

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