New Jersey congressman who helped revamp Camden police on what it takes to reform: “It’s about reinvesting”
CBSN
June 18, 2020
As calls grow nationwide to defund the police, there’s one city that has already done so — Camden, New Jersey. In 2013, the Camden Police Department was disbanded and rebuilt into a county system. Current Congressman and then-State Senator Donald Norcross joined CBSN to explain how it worked and why Camden’s example about reinvesting can be used for other cities.
The disbanding of Camden’s police department came about in 2013 as a byproduct of budget issues. The then-Governor, Mayor and state Senator Norcross worked with the community and the police chief to create a new police department run by the county of Camden. Its focus was on “how can we create a system, a police department that is of the city,” Norcross said. “It’s not ‘us versus them,’ ‘community versus police,’ but one that reflects what the city needs.”