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DIVISIONS
Our department contains various units each specialized and responsible for providing particular police services. All of our units work together in order to ensure a safe community.
TRAFFIC UNIT
Traffic Unit Supervisor: Acting Chief Frank Visaggio #433
Traffic Officer: Lieutenant Paul Schmidig #438
Traffic Officer: P.O. Dennis Cameron #445
The Traffic Unit goal is to further the Police Department’s mission to provide a safe environment for the Borough of Demarest by monitoring all motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The Traffic Unit works along with the Departments Patrol Division and Motor Unit to provide the safest roadways, pedestrian crossing and safe school routes for our children.
This is accomplished through education, engineering and enforcement. Our officers also attend monthly traffic meetings within Bergen County and the State of New Jersey, and bring back safety information that is implemented in our town to increase the safety for our residents, pedestrians and motorists. In order to obtain these goals we strive to meet the following objectives:
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Provide Speakers at schools and community events, addressing concerns and safety issues while providing educational literature.
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Reduce the number of fatalities and serious injury crashes caused by hazardous moving violations.
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Concentrate on school zone enforcement.
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Conduct proactive radar enforcement.
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Monitor potential areas of concern and adding the appropriate traffic control devices, stop signs, traffic signal and other signage as needed.
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Address citizen complaints concerning traffic laws, ordinances and handicapped parking regulations.
The Traffic Unit handles concerns from residents in regards to safety issues on the borough’s roadways and schools. The Unit utilizes a radar/sign board trailer to enforce speeding laws, assists with data for traffic studies and a borough sign board for community and traffic alert messages.
Members of the unit also train and maintain the records for all officers within the department for radar and work zone safety. Review and approve all NJTR-1 motor vehicle crash reports taken in the borough. Planned and unplanned events are the responsibility of the traffic unit, barricades, traffic cones are used for emergency road closures, parades and 5K marathons.
Please contact Capt. Frank Visaggio at 201-768-1546 ext. 163 or Officer Paul Schmidig at 201-768-1546 ext. 158, with any traffic related concerns you have and events you may be planning so we can assist you as best as possible.
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER
School Resource Officer Don Cho #444
A School Resource Officer (SRO) works in the school system and serves as a bridge between the community and the Police Department. While their primary duty is to provide security and foster a safe school environment, they also serve to educate and mentor the children in our community. An SRO helps the students in viewing Police Officers as more than just enforcers and increases positive attitudes towards Law Enforcement by developing relationships with them in a non-confrontational setting. The SRO program serves to strengthen the alliance between schools, communities, and law enforcement.
MOTORCYCLE UNIT
The motor unit is part of our traffic unit and is responsible for monitoring and enforcement of traffic violations throughout the Borough. It is also a big part of our community relations as our officers on the motor is easily accessible to the public. Our officers have easy access to school property making them first on the scene when needed.
The Motor unit was established in the late 1999’s when the motorcycle was donated. However, it was not fully put into service until 2003. The primary mission of the Motor Unit is traffic related and public safety is the biggest concern. Escorts, parades are a major part of this unit.
DRONE UNIT
The Drone unit was established in July of 2018 in the department’s efforts to utilize new technology in assisting our residents. Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) are typically deployed for missing persons, event safety, providing Law Enforcement with critical information to respond to calls for service, to provide aerial visual support to ground personnel, and documentation of crime or accident scenes. All Drone Unit pilots have been certified through the Federal Aviation Administration.
