Public Safety Initiatives
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. has partnered with law enforcement to provide modern facilities and enhance resources for operations.
Under DiVincenzo’s guidance:
- Essex County reacquired the Essex County Police Academy from Essex County College in 2019 and has taken responsibility for providing training for Police and Corrections Officer cadets.
- A new Sheriff’s Patrol Headquarters was opened in 2017 to replace antiquated facilities that had been occupied since 1915.
- New headquarters for the Sheriff’s Bomb Squad and K-9 Unites was opened in 2006.
- A Crime Scene Investigators Lab and storage space for evidence was created for the Prosecutor’s Office in 2006.
- A state-of-the-art Office of Emergency Management developed for the Sheriff’s Office was opened in 2010.
- Centralized offices for the Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Squad were opened in 2008.
- The renovation and restoration of the Historic Essex County Courthouse was completed in 2004.
- A modern Jury Management Room and new Veterans Courthouse entranceway were completed in 2007 to make operations more efficient and provide modern accommodations for jurors.
In addition, DiVincenzo has joined with Congressman Robert Menendez and Sheriff Armando Fontoura to lobby against the availability of automatic weapons, lobbied to make funds from seized accounts to be used for crime fighting initiatives, and joined with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT), the Essex County Police Chief’s Association and the Essex County Crime Prevention Officers Association to provide secure drop off locations where residents can safely deposit unused prescription medicines.