New Jersey Shore Town Fights to Save Its Police Department

The history of Police Departments in New Jersey Coastal Communities is also connected to the oldest seashore resort town in the United States: Cape May has its first records of a Police Department dating back to 1848.

The role of Police Officers in Jersey Shore Towns is unique because their responsibilities expand tenfold from May through September compared to the other seven months of the year.

Local residents, business owners, and loyal vacationers depend on these local Police Departments for their protection. There is typically only a "threat to peace" from people who are visiting Coastal Communities because the pride in the town is usually very strong among the local residents.

This reality is why the people who live in one South Jersey Shore Town are taking the fight to keep the community's Police Department from being dissolved to the highest offices of New Jersey's government.

What is Happening To This Coastal Community In South Jersey

One of the smallest year-round populations in New Jersey's southernmost county is also a town many residents of The Garden State may not know exists.

The expansion of the Delaware Bay Shore Line Railroad in South Jersey during the early 1900s led to the settling of a track of marshland just west of the Five Mile Island. The main island would become what we know today as The Wildwoods (North Wildwood, City of Wildwood, Wildwood Crest) and the small island would become West Wildwood.

West Wildwood used to be a major hub for the railroad lines bringing visitors to and from The Wildwoods. There used to be a casino on the island in the early 1900s, and the residential population saw its greatest growth from 1920 to 1930. The modernization of the roads and town infrastructure has occurred over the last 30 years.

What has not improved in recent years is the West Wildwood Police Department. A recent report by the Chiefs of Police Association of New Jersey has recommended that the WWPD be disbanded and that the responsibility of public safety fall under the jurisdiction of neighboring police departments in North Wildwood and the City of Wildwood.

Why Would The West Wildwood Police Department Be Shutdown?

Google maps

A combination of issues in the last ten years has led Cape May County Officials along with the Chiefs of Police Association of New Jersey to recommend the West Wildwood Police Department can no longer Serve and Protect their community.

Cape May County Prosecutor, Jeff Sutherland, assigned Detective Mark Weeks to oversee the West Wildwood Department after the Police Chief, Jacquelyn Ferentz, took a Leave of Absence approximately two years ahead of her planned retirement.

The WWPD has been dealing with staff shortages for several years after a series of lawsuits by former officers against the on-leave Police Chief Ferentz and former Mayor Christopher Fox. Numerous accusations of using the Police Department as a pawn in political feuds has given the West Wildwood Police Department a bad reputation.

Current Mayor Matt Ksiazek has said public his administration has worked to re-establish the town's financial and public credibility. But residents have accused city officials of neglecting the Police Department in an effort to cut the cost of the department altogether.

The Committee to Save the West Wildwood Police Department has submitted a letter to the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, the state attorney general, and other state departments requesting intervention from Trenton for the following:

"To assess the borough’s current law enforcement staffing levels and readiness to respond to foreseeable public safety events; To evaluate whether the borough commissioners’ failure to hire constitutes gross negligence, misconduct, or breach of fiduciary duty; To deploy state-level assistance or intervention if local public safety cannot be ensured; To advise the borough on any corrective mandates necessary to fulfill its obligations under state law and protect the public."

The outcry from West Wildwood residents resulted in such a massive turnout for the most recent City Commissioners Meeting, they had to hold it outdoors at Neptune Avenue Park.

There is an online petition in support of the West Wildwood Police Department, and the corresponding online Facebook group has almost 300 members in just 3 weeks. Online sentiment has been vocal and aggressive against the dissolution of the WWPD.

The popular Westside Saloon, located in West Wildwood, is one of the Best Hidden Gem Restaurants located in South Jersey: