In 1955 when the police department was established, the police force was composed of one chief and five police officers. Today’s police department has 40 sworn officers serving over 20,000 residents. Last year the police department responded to over 28,000 calls for service. Along with our regular duties of providing police service to the residents of the township, the police department is very active in the community with the programs and projects that are offered by such groups as Municipal Alliance, D.A.R.E., and the Police Athletic League (P.A.L.).

West Deptford Township is clearly a community on the move, and our mission at the police department is to provide quality police service to our community by promoting a safe environment through police and citizen interaction, with an emphasis on integrity, fairness and professionalism.

At the police department, we recognize that one of the most valuable investments we can make is our children. It is for this reason that we continue to work closely with our schools. By assigning a School Resource Officer to the school system, we can attempt to identify at-risk children. By doing this we are investing in the future of our community along with providing a safe learning environment for our children.

This year, the police department added a K-9 Unit to its patrol complement. The K-9 and handler recently graduated from the Atlantic County K-9 Academy, trained for patrol work, which includes tracking, searching and response tocivil disturbances. Later in the year, they will attend a narcotics detection course, enabling them to fight the "war on drugs".

We welcome suggestions and/or concerns from the community regarding any public safety issues, and encourage you to call Chief Craig Mangano at the West Deptford Police Department at 856.845.4004, extension 157.