TRENTON, N.J. — In an effort authorities hope will make the Trenton Train Station safer for travelers, NJ Transit police officers will replace Amtrak police next month and plan on deploying more officers in and around the South Clinton Avenue facility, the Trenton Times reported.
The mutual plan has been in the works for months, both organizations said yesterday.
Several factors led to the change, according to NJ Transit officials, including their desire to police their own station – NJ Transit owns the building – homeland security issues and customer service.
The quality of policing that Amtrak officers provide the Trenton station was not an issue, but their staffing levels were, NJT Police Chief Joseph Bober said yesterday.
Amtrak officers stationed in Trenton will be reassigned to NJT’s new $125 million concourse at Penn Station in Manhattan, officials at both agencies said.
The switch takes place at midnight on Jan. 11, when NJ Transit police formally take over patrol duties. Amtrak police will leave the station by Jan. 18, an Amtrak spokeswoman in Washington said.
Bober said yesterday the plan will benefit riders and the community alike. He said his 200-person agency is establishing a Trenton Command and will be able to improve on Amtrak’s staffing.
He declined to say how many police officers would be sent to Trenton but said it would be in the double-digits. He said a minimum of three officers would always be at the station.
A lieutenant will command the Trenton operation and have jurisdiction over the Hamilton Train Station as well, which NJ Transit also owns. But no officers will be stationed permanently at Hamilton.
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Amtrak police currently have nine officer slots assigned to the Trenton station, with a minimum of two assigned per shift. They work 24 hours a day.
In July, Amtrak was advertising for two police officer positions for the Trenton Train Station and said they were down to seven positions.
Bober said his department will police the station more visibly and plan several physical and cosmetic changes that riders will see everyday.
A new police office with updated holding cells is planned, and a large, raised watch desk in the center of the main hallway will allow officers to look out on almost all areas of the station.
“We felt (it would) better serve our customers if we were there right on the spot for them,” Bober said.
NJ Transit announced in October that a $2.8 million contract to complete design work for a new Trenton Train Station, a renovation that could cost more than $45 million, which has yet to be budgeted.
The agency has said it wants to make the station a 39,000-square-foot, two-story structure and add office, retail and community space as well as new landscaping and signs.
Bober said he has had three meetings with Trenton police supervisors and Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel Giaquinto to form a better working relationship.
Trenton police spokesman Sgt. Jim Dellaira said their working relationship with Amtrak police is solid, and the department looks forward to such a relationship with NJ Transit.
Sometime in February, NJT police officers are scheduled to cross-train with city police and prosecutor’s officials, Bober said.
“We’re going to be moving forward,” Bober said. “We have a lot to offer each other, and we’re going to make a great team and make a safer rider environment,” he said.
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Hamilton police Capt. Kevin Pollard, who has been involved in policing issues at the Hamilton Train Station since it opened in February 1999, was slightly disappointed with yesterday’s news.
He said NJ Transit police “have played virtually a minuscule role in enforcement roles since (the Hamilton station) opened.” Hamilton police officers were called to the station 234 times in 2001 and have responded 198 times so far this year.
Bober said while the main focus would be the Trenton station, the plan could also benefit Hamilton.
Officers will make periodic checks of the Hamilton station, and the lieutenant in charge is authorized to deploy officers there when needed. And they will be much closer than they are now at locations in North Jersey.
He also said Hamilton Deputy Chief George Zimmer is a personal friend and they will be able to work professionally together.
Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel Giaquinto said the plan is positive for Mercer County, and he and Bober said yesterday they have a developing rapport with Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore about NJT security issues.
Gilmore is set to meet today with Bober and Giaquinto about the beating of a NJT bus driver in Trenton last weekend. Gilmore was concerned about the attack because the driver picked up the youths who attacked him in Hamilton.
NJ Transit has said the attack was an isolated incident.
Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer eagerly welcomed the new plan, saying it’s something he’s looked forward to for years. He said he “sporadically” got complaints about crime at the station, and for years he has talked about the city deserving a better train station.
“It’s good and it’s needed and our police will work with it,” Palmer said of the plan. “This is good news.”