Crime & Safety

Police Chief Dudeck Outlines Post-Consolidation Initiatives

The third in a three-part series about the new Princeton Police Department.

 

Princeton Police Chief David Dudeck plans to launch three new initiatives after consolidation: a community policing/safe neighborhoods unit, bike patrol and greater interaction with Princeton’s youth.

“The tricky thing in, without manpower, those units are the first to go,” Dudeck said. “The patrol division has to be fully staffed at all times, that’s the backbone of the whole department.

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“My dream is to have enough officers so that we can keep the other units staffed to where we can give the town the services that I’m understanding that they really want," he said. 

To keep patrol staffed at the optimal level, the department will begin recruiting at college and job fairs this fall to put potential new officers on a waiting list if and when the department needs to add or replace staff.

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With about four months before Princeton Borough and Princeton Township consolidate, members of both police departments have already made several important decisions, led by members of Dudeck’s new command staff.

“A long time ago, I learned about being a leader, you really are only as good as the people around you,” Dudeck said. “I don’t want to be a dictator or a micromanager, I trust the people who are around me.”

The combined department will use 9mm handguns, already used by Township officers. The department’s new uniform looks similar to the Borough’s current blue and gold uniform.

The police patch will feature an image from the 1777 Battle of Princeton, the dates the Township and Borough departments were founded, the year the combined department was founded, the words “knowledge," "honor," "integrity" and "service” plus  boughs of wheat to signify good fortune.

Organizationally, the department will have three divisions: investigative, special services/support services and patrol. Each division will be overseen by at least one administrative officer, if not two.

Dudeck hopes to move the entire department to the Witherspoon Street building by Jan. 1, but right now they’re evaluating what changes may need to be made to the space to accommodate the merged department. He said the move might come in waves, with courts, police records and dispatch moving first while other space is rearranged or reconfigured.

Dudeck, who is married with four children, has held every job in the police department over his 29-year career.

“I’ve gotten to really learn and understand the whole police business which I think will be in a benefit in moving our department forward in the future,” Dudeck said. “My heart is in this thing for all the right reasons, I really want to do the right thing and I really believe that it really can work.” 

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