Thanks.....

Thank you to everyone who cared enough about this issue to speak up, send a postcard, make a phone call, come to a City Council meeting, or just keep informed.

Tonight City Council ratified a new four year Camden Police contract. It was 6 pages long. This is the City of Camden's reponse to being the most dangerous city in the country.

Their plan, after ratifying the contract, is to go back to the negotiating table and do another agreement covering Steady Shifts. We can only hope they can accomplish this. Conducting additional negotations at this point seems rather unusual. Especially since, with the passage of the agreement tonight, the City has lost significant negotiating leverage.

Prior to the vote Mayor Faison, COO Primas, Chief Figueroa, and Council President Fuentes spoke in favor of Steady shifts. Mr. Primas said that the unions are in favor of Steady Shifts. Also, previously the Attorney General has indicated support for Steady Shifts and so has the Camden County Prosecutor, Vincent Sarrubbi.

So WHAT HAPPENED? How did we get to this point? Where were our State, County, and Local leaders when the contract was being negotiated? Why do we need to go back to table for additional negotations when this issue should have been settled in the first place? Perhaps, this why the City of Camden is where it is today. Thousands of failures in leadership just like this one.

I am optimistic. This campaign did accomplish many important things. People from across the City, in different neighborhoods, came together to fight on this important issue. We spoke in a respectful, dignified, and informed manner. And, a lot of people understand then concepts of Steady Shifts and why they are so important.

With faith, good ideas will prevail. Camden just wasn't ready for this idea, yet. We will hold our leaders to their promise: to go back and negotiate for Steady Shifts in the next few months.

Jeff Brenner

Articles

Philadelphia Inquirer

------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted on Fri, Mar. 11, 2005

Four-year contracts with raises approved for police, firefighters
The cost: An additional $8 million. The pacts do not address the divisive issue of rotating shifts.
By Sam Wood and Dwight Ott
Inquirer Staff Writers

Despite objections by members of a state-appointed blue-ribbon panel, Camden's City Council last night approved four-year contracts for the city's Police and Fire Departments.

The contracts, approved by all six Council members who were present, gives police officers and firefighters a $1,500 raise the first year and an average 4 percent increase each successive year.

The agreements will cost the city an additional $1 million this year and a total of $8 million over the contracts' lives.

The state panel of law enforcement experts and community members was appointed by Attorney General Peter C. Harvey to study the Police Department's problems for 90 days.

Its report to Harvey did not oppose the raises but did call for ending the "outmoded" rotating police shifts.

"How did we get to this sad moment?" panel member Jeffrey Brenner, a Camden physician, asked at last night's meeting. "Everyone here supports steady police shifts, but it's not contained in the contract... . When Camden is listed as the most dangerous city, who dropped the ball?"

Another member, Sharon Miller, also was upset.

"I am very angry because we have not been heard," she said. "We deserve better than this."

But the city's state-appointed chief operating officer, Melvin R. "Randy" Primas, who helped negotiate the contract, said the document gave the police chief the deployment flexibility needed to deal with Camden's crime. He said steady shifts could be negotiated later.

"We're not opposed to permanent shifts. It's something we're moving toward," Primas said.

As the contract stands, officers work four 10-hour days followed by three days off, then four 10-hour night tours followed by three days off, and finally four eight-hour midnight shifts followed by two days off.

The panel cited numerous studies that found rotated shifts were unhealthy for police.

The city's police unions, who said they had requested steady shifts at the start of contract negotiations, said additional officers would have to be hired to make them possible.

The panel wrote that more officers were not needed if the department "assigned more officers to the patrol function and fewer officers to specialized units."

The panel said police departments that have jettisoned rotating shifts had seen marked improvements.

After the Police Department in Abilene Texas, went to steady shifts, it was able to "offer in-service training, reduce overtime expenditures by 32 percent, reduce sick leave, reduce employee turnover and increase officer morale," the panel wrote.

"Steady shifts are an issue that deserves serious consideration," Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi said yesterday. "I hope that all the parties will be willing to come back to the table to discuss implementing steady shifts as recommended by the state-appointed public safety commission."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 856-779-3838 or samwood@phillynews.com. Inquirer staff writer Elisa Ung contributed to this article.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com

Courier Post

Pact fails to settle on shifts

Friday, March 11, 2005
Future talks may focus on steady police hours

By LUIS PUGA
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
Police officers will not be deployed on fixed-time shifts, under two contracts passed by city council members at a meeting Thursday.

The council had tabled the two, four-year contracts with two police unions two weeks ago after state Attorney General Peter Harvey requested time to review the contracts.

Randy Primas, the city's chief operating officer, told council members Thursday while steady shifts, thought to be more effective in fighting crime, were not included, the option was there to negotiate with the unions in the future.

"Steady shifts are an issue that deserve serious consideration and I hope that all parties will be willing to come back to the table to discuss implementing steady shifts as recommended by the state-appointed public safety commission," said Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi before the meeting.

Residents who support steady shifts bemoaned the fact that law enforcement, union and even city officials supported steady shifts, but could not put them into these contracts.

"I am so angry because (residents) have not been heard," said Sharon Miller. "I have to be here in the city every morning. Many people do not. Please stop disregarding (residents) in this way."

At the same meeting, council members unanimously voted to table the Central Waterfront Redevelopment Plan so members could meet with Primas, and members of the Camden Waterfront Alliance.

The Alliance, made up of port industry owners and employee unions, is opposed to the plan because it call for residential units to be built near their industries. They feel that would create a conflict between residents and port businesses.

Council also passed two resolutions allowing a subsidiary of Marlton-based Michaels Development Corp. to enter into a payment in lieu of taxes agreement for affordable housing in Cramer Hill.ADVERTISEMENT - CLICK TO ENLARGE OR VISIT WEBSITE

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The agreement will help Michaels earn tax credits for a project for 160 units of affordable housing that would be replace Ablett Village. That apartment complex is slated to be demolished under the Cramer Hill Redevelopment Plan.

Council President Angel Fuentes and Councilman Ali Sloan El differed on whether Ablett residents supported the plan and on fliers posted on homes in Cramer Hill.

The fliers directed owners of properties to contact the firm of Zeller and Bryant by March 22 or face condemnation. State Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Lawnside is a partner in the Cherry Hill firm.

Fuentes called the fliers a "scare tactic," but Sloan El said they were copies of yellow stickers posted on the homes.

Sloan El was the only council member to vote against the two resolutions.

WHERE TO CALL

* If you want to comment on the Central Waterfront Redevelopment Plan, you can contact council members at (856) 757-7115.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach Luis Puga at (856) 541-3994 or lpuga@courierpostonline.com
Thank you for visiting www.courierpostonline.com

City Council Meeting Tonight- 5 PM

Tonight, March 10th at 5 PM Camden City Council will meet again to vote on the Camden Police Contract. At the last Council meeting, two weeks ago, the Attorney General of New Jersey, Peter Harvey, asked for the contract to be tabled. He wanted more time to review the contract and he also wanted his new "Blue Ribbon" Camden Police Commission to review the contract.

The Commission met last week. I am one of two City residents appointed to the Commission and I was present at the meeting. The Commission staff were asked to examine the contract, especially the issue of steady shifts, and produce a written report. It is expected to be released to the public today. As soon as it is publicly available I will post it here, on-line.

Will the Attorney General, Peter Harvey, stand behind the findings of his own report? Will the COO, Randy Primas take a position publicly supporting Steady Shifts? Will City Council listen to the advice of their own citizen advisory body, the Public Safety Council, and push for Steady Shifts? Will the Camden Police Department continue to pursue an archaic policy of shift deployment that has been abandoned by every urban police department we have contacted? Will Camden be the most dangerous City in the country again next year? When will our leaders be ready to start making hard decision?

We'll have some of the answers after tonight...

If you live, work, worship, or just care a lot about Camden, please come at 5 PM to Camden City Council Chambers and let your voice be heard on this important issue. If you can’t attend call a public official and ask them to oppose any contract that does not include steady shifts:

Peter Harvey- Attorney General of New Jersey 609-292-4925
Randy Primas- Chief Operating Officer of Camden 856-757-7671
Angel Fuentes- Camden City Council President 856-757-7128

Camden Public Safety Council Votes Unanimously to Support Steady Shifts

On Monday, March 7th, during its regular meeting in City Coucil Chambers, the Camden City Public Safety Council voted unanimously to support Steady Shifts and oppose any police contract that does not move the Camden Police Department to Steady Shifts. The Camden City Public Safety Council was created by City Council to advise them on matters of Public Safety. The Public Safety Council is chaired by lifelong resident Sharon Miller.

Will City Council listen to the recommendations of its own advisory board?




CODE OF THE CITY OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, v117 Updated 7-1-2004

PART I ADMINISTRATIVE LEGISLATION

Chapter 30, COMMUNITY PUBLIC SAFETY COUNCIL
[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Camden 3-12-1998 by Ord. No. MC-3374; amended in its entirety 3-26-1998 by Ord. No. MC-3381. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department -- See Ch. 87.
§ 30-1. Council created.
  The creation of a Community Public Safety Council is hereby authorized as an advisory body to City Council.
§ 30-2. Purpose.
  The purpose of this Council shall be to create a police-community working group to examine public safety issues in the City of Camden and to develop programs and strategies to address these issues.
§ 30-3. Membership. [Amended 1-28-1999 by Ord. No. MC-3441]
  The Mayor, President of City Council, the Chief of Police or their representatives shall serve as ex officio members of this Council. The remaining members, the community members, shall be comprised of one member from each of the city's census tracts and one alternate member for each community member. There shall also be four area representatives who shall represent areas which correspond more or less to the four councilmanic wards; the initial representatives of the community shall be nominated by the community or a member of City Council. Thereafter, the membership of the organization shall be selected in a manner provided by that Council in its bylaws.
§ 30-4. Organization.
  The Council shall organize and create its own bylaws. 

Letter to the Editor- Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted on Mon, Mar. 07, 2005

Letters | Camden's police need steady shifts

The City of Camden recently renegotiated contracts for supervisors and employees of its Police and Fire Departments. The contract renewal was six pages. (See www.camconnect.org.) This contract renewal was an opportunity to address long-standing and well-documented problems with officer deployment. Unfortunately, the city failed in its responsibility to protect the citizenry.

Four audits by the state Office of the Attorney General have repeatedly suggested changing patrol deployment. In the latest audit, in June 2002, the state wrote: "We recommended that patrol officers be deployed to work shifts consistent with the workload demands. It is clear that this could only be accomplished if obstacles impeding the efforts of management to modify the work hours and shift schedules were removed from officers' collective bargaining agreement."

Given Morgan Quitno's ranking of Camden as most dangerous city in the country for 2003, a six-page contract renewal that doesn't address officer deployment is unacceptable. National Uniform Crime Report data show an increase in crime in Camden from 2002 to 2003 of 41 percent for robberies, 24 percent for murder, 26 percent for burglary, 24 percent for rape, and 22 percent for aggravated assault.

Currently, the department rotates patrol officers to a new time shift every week. This means that officers do not have an opportunity to focus on lowering crime in the same location at the same time over a period of time. This is unheard of around the country. Every urban department that we have contacted - including Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark, Washington, New York, Cincinnati, Nashville and Richmond - uses steady work shifts. Rotating work shifts is also unhealthy for the officers. It's like having jet lag every week.

Where does chief operating officer Randy Primas stand on the issue? With the Camden recovery plan in place, the power is in his hands to fix this issue. Please call Mr. Primas' office at 856-757-7671 or fax to 856-968-4787 and ask him to amend the Camden Police Department contract to create steady work shifts. For more information on this issue, contact us at steadyshifts@mac.com or visit our blog at http://camdenpublicsafety.blogspot.com/.

Jeffrey Brenner
The Rev. Bob McDermott
Cochairs, Working Group on Public Safety
Alliance for the Revitalization of Camden City

Sharon Miller
Chair
Camden City Public Safety Council

Announcement in Philadelphia Inquirer Today

Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted on Fri, Mar. 04, 2005

Camden group holding phone conferences on safety

A Camden watchdog group announced yesterday that it would hold a series of telephone conferences to discuss the pending Camden police contract and other public-safety issues. The Alliance for the Revitalization of Camden City was to hold its first phone conference last night.

City Council was poised to ratify the police contract last month when, at the last minute, Attorney General Peter Harvey had the pact tabled for two weeks. He told Camden chief operating officer Melvin "Randy" Primas in a letter that he had not had enough time to study the contract.

The contract would continue the scheduling of rotating shifts. Physician Jeffrey Brenner, cochairman of the alliance's public-safety working group, said rotating shifts were unhealthy and caused officers to live in a perpetual state of jet lag.

The next conferences are scheduled for noon Saturday and noon Tuesday. To participate, dial 1-888-346-3950, enter 243911 and hit #. Further information can be found on the alliance's blog at http://camdenpublicsafety.blogspot.com.

------------------------
Sam Wood
------------------------

© 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com

Community Phone Conference on Camden Police Contract

The Public Safety Working Group of the Alliance for the Revitalization of Camden City (ARCC) will be hosting 3 phone conferences open to the community. Call in on the toll free number and learn about how problems with the new Camden Police Contract can impact your safety. If you live, work, worship, or visit Camden please join us on any of these dates:

Thursday, March 3rd 8 PM
Saturday, March 5th Noon
Tuesday, March 8th Noon

The dial in access number is 1-888-346-3950 enter 243911 and hit #. If you have questions or concerns contact me at jeffrey.brenner@verizon.net.

Jeff Brenner, MD
Co-chair, Public Safety Working Group
The Alliance for the Revitalization of Camden City

Welcome to the Camden Public Safety Blog

Welcome to the Camden Public Safety Blog. This is webspace dedicated to making the City of Camden a safer place to live, work, worship, and visit. On this blog you will find information, debate, and discussion on events that impact our safety in Camden. I look forward to your comments.

Jeff Brenner, MD

Facts on the new Camden Police Contract

1. The City of Camden just renegotiated the Camden Police Department Contract.
2. Four audits by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey on the Camden Police Department have repeatedly suggested changing patrol deployment.
3. The City of Camden was recently named the most dangerous city in the country for 2003.
4. National Uniform Crime Report data shows an increase of crime in Camden from 2002 to 2003 of 41% for robberies, 24% for murder, 26% for burglary, 24% for rape, and 22% for aggravated assault.
5. Currently, the Department rotates patrol officers to a new time shift every week.
6. This means that officers do not have an opportunity to focus on lowering crime in the same location at the same time over a period of time.
7. This is unheard of around the country. Every urban department that we have contacted uses steady work shifts. This includes Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark, Washington, DC, New York City, Cincinnati, Nashville, and Richmond.
8. The rotating work shifts are unhealthy for the officers. It’s like having jet lag every week.
9. The new contract continues rotating work shifts.


Where does the Chief Operating Officer, Randy Primas stand on the issue?

Please call Mr. Primas’ office at (856) 757-7671 or fax to (856) 968-4787 and ask him to amend the Camden Police Department contract to create steady work shifts.

From the Campaign for Steady Work Shifts
For more info contact: steadyshifts@mac.com

Campaign for Steady Work Shifts

Steady Work Shifts
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Brenner.