Police Chief Falco: I Will Ask For More Personnel

Although Police Chief Anthony Falco had not yet read the state's audit of the Hoboken Police Department on Monday night, enough people had called him during the day to ask his opinion and talk about the content of the long-awaited document. 

The audit, which recommended that the police force be cut by roughly a third (a reduction in staff from 158 to a possible 102 officers), was released by Mayor Dawn Zimmer yesterday.

Falco said that he is currently focused on the upcoming St. Patrick's Day Parade weekend (Saturday, March 6) and will address the audit afterward. The audit was performed by the state's Division of Local Government Services.

Still, Falco made it clear during a meet and greet with residents of the Sixth Ward Monday night, that he doesn't think the Hoboken Police Department is overstaffed. In fact, quite the opposite.

"I can tell you, Director," said Falco, addressing Director of Public Safety Angel Alicea, who was standing in the back of the meeting room. "I'll be asking for more personnel, no matter what the audit says."

The audit also recommends that the position of Public Safety Director (Alicea's position) be re-evaluated and possibly eliminated. 

Alicea—who said he had read about 10 pages of the audit and needed to read it at least twice in order to fully digest the information—said he was concerned about some of the findings.

The audit is based on numbers from the 2000 U.S. Census, according to which Hoboken has roughly 30,000 residents. Today, Hoboken has around—or even more than—50,000 residents, Alicea said.

Alicea added that the number of commuters and weekend visitors also increase the need for a separate Public Safety Director. Those extra bodies in Hoboken are not necessarily counted in the U.S. Census numbers, he added. 

The audit also recommends to raise the police's workweek from 35 hours to the regular 40 hours a week. The difference between those two workweeks comes down to 255 hours a year per employee, or 38,500 hours for the Department (the equivalent of 18 officers), according to the audit. The audit recommends the mayor to address this issue during labor union negotiations with the police.

Lt. Ken Ferrante explained that Hoboken police officers work five eight-hour days, during eight day cycles, which is the explanation for the 35-hour workweek. Ferrante said he had read the audit earlier that day and did not seem to agree with the recommendation to cut staff.

Alicea and Falco were not yet in place in their current positions when the audit was performed. 

Alicea, who earns $27,000 a year in his capacity as Public Safety Director, said the position is necessary in an urban environment like Hoboken. And although he admitted to being somewhat biased—after all he was talking about his job—he said he supports the position, whether it's him or somebody else. 

"It's a very important position," he said. 

Alicea has been on the job since July 2009, and was brought in by former Mayor Peter Cammarano. He added that he would like to see how the conclusions in the audit were reached. 

"It's concerning," Alicea said. "I want my city to be safe."