Paterson deploys extra foot patrols to protect local businesses
The Paterson on Patrol program will focus on protecting businesses around the city. Sixteen extra officers will be working Thursday through Sunday in selected commercial neighborhoods.
Paterson police will be increasing foot patrols in select clusters of businesses starting July 1.
So far, 14 areas have been chosen, and the goal is to make people and employees feel safer.
There will be 16 officers on foot working Thursday through Sunday from 2 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Those officers will be in areas that have a lot of cafes and storefronts. Their focus will be on quality-of-life crimes such as vandalism, loitering and theft. The officers will be in uniform but technically they are off-duty.
“We need off-duty police officers because we need as many on duty as we can and we don’t want to pull anyone," said Mayor Andre Sayegh.
The mayor wants to be sure that residents and business owners are safe when shopping and dining at a time when crime tends to rise.
"Crime is a feeling so if people don’t feel safe going into a restaurant or going into a retail store. Then we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do," said Mayor Sayegh
Those extra officers will paid for with the help of a $1.8 million grant from the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone program.
The mayor says that in the near future these areas will also be getting improved lighting and more surveillance cameras.
