By: Justin Gick
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
For this September issue, I was able to sit down with our new Cherry Hill Police Chief Monaghan. I talked to him about his first couple months in this new position and what safety issues are like in our town. In the beginning, I asked the Chief if he always lived in New Jersey. He said that he was actually born in Philadelphia and moved to New Jersey when he was three years old. Chief Monaghan attended Camden County College where he received an Associate’s Degree. He then studied at Rowan University where he received his Bachelor’s Degree. After he was hired as a police officer, he went to Seton Hall and obtained a Master’s Degree.
Monaghan said being a police officer was something he always wanted to do ever since he was a child. He had a neighbor who was a police officer and he would always let him wear his hat. From that point on, he knew he wanted to pursue this as a career. I had read in another biography on the Chief that he joined the Cherry Hill Police force in 1995 and then worked hard to rise through the ranks. I wondered if it was difficult or challenging for him to reach these positions. The Chief explained that not only did it take a lot of hard work, but there were many times that he was in the right spot at the right time. He started in 1995 and it was a time where the department was experiencing a lot of turnover and transitions.
I had also read in the Chief’s biography that he was a detective for the police department. I was interested in what this type of work was like, as well as, what he had investigated. Chief Monaghan said his assignments as a detective were mainly fraud cases. However, he was eventually assigned to the major crime units and even worked for the narcotics department for a period of time. He added that being a detective was exciting, adventurous, and rewarding. It was different than being on patrol. This is because a lot of times (on patrol), an officer may go out and take the reports. It is not at its conclusion stage yet. When you are a detective, you receive a report that is at the half way point. You use your investigative techniques to take it from where the patrol officers left off and ultimately investigate further while working towards a conclusion. You are attempting to get some type of satisfaction, in either apprehending the suspect who was involved, or providing closure to the victim.
At this point, I asked the Chief if he had any memorable events that happened to him when he used to patrol the streets of Cherry Hill. The first was during dignitary protection for President Bill Clinton. His presidential helicopter was scheduled to land right on CH West property. This happened because he was attending an event in Cherry Hill. He had to not only be sure that the area was large enough, but that traffic was limited and the area was safe and secure. The Chief was also in charge of the detail for former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright when she came to Cherry Hill. The Chief picked her up at the airport.
The Chief explained the challenges and rewards of being the head of the entire police department. Cherry Hill is a progressive police department. It is one of the larger departments in the area. It is because of this that there are certain challenges in trying to stay ahead of the curve, especially, as far as technology. They are in the process of changing their business model and how they police the town. They have had challenges in the past with the budget. They came through that by changing how they schedule their officers. They are moving forward with a lot of cooperation from the Mayor and his administration.
In terms of current crime rates, he said Cherry Hill is stable at this point. Most of the crime in our town is retailed based. These occur, especially on the West end of town, because of the mall and the large shopping areas. The Chief stated that they do their best to get out there and prevent it from occurring. Overall, the Chief said Cherry Hill is a relatively safe community as compared to many others.
Chief Monaghan explained that he has only been Chief since January of 2014. They are still progressing. They dealt with the transition of the former Chief. Now under his administration, they are currently in the process of implementing a new business model and a philosophy in policing. He feels it is a hybrid of an intelligence policing model coupled with a solving policing model. They will leverage investments that they made in technology, different databases, computer dispatch systems, pawnshop software, and they are specifically targeting areas based upon the data they are able to pull from the different areas that they currently use. It is a different mindset not only for the administration, but for police officers.
Historically, police work is reactive at times. Officers come into roll call and get their district assignment. They go out into their districts, answer radio calls, and perform some proactive activity during the course of their shift. They are available for service radio calls where they are dispatched to a specific location. There has not been much of a targeted plan in a daily operation. For example, the police department with this hybrid model, are going to focus on certain hot spots that they have identified in town. Whether it is a criminal nature or of a traffic issue, they will address those through high visible enforcement. This could mean an undercover enforcement at the motels for issues that might occur (for example on Craig’s List and things like that).
The command staff has already been attending training sessions and a program called DDACT which is short for Data Driving Analysis of Crime and Traffic Studies. While he has not had major accomplishments yet (as Chief), it is only because he has only been in this position for 8 months. The main accomplishment, thus far, is just trying to get that new mindset going. How are they are going to police this town?
I informed the Chief that I had interviewed Police Officer Bill Ackerman back in 2012 about the new police cars. I was interested in knowing if they bought any more since then. Chief Monaghan said they did. They purchased one other fleet of Dodge Chargers and also some Ford Explorers.
The Chief’s family is positive about his promotion. He explained that his wife is understanding, in the fact that, there are certain demands of this job. His children are young and they understand that there are times when he is not going to be home and might even miss certain activities or events.
I gave the opportunity for the Chief to send out a message to our students that want to go into this field. The Chief said the person must be honest, work hard, make sure they stay physically fit, have a clear cut vision, and a have a plan or goal of what they want as their career path. They need to go attend college.
It helps students to be present in a more diversified environment, have different views and opinions, and to hear other people’s views. He said when you come on this job, you are dealing with multiple people that have different opinions. They have their own ideas of what your views/opinions should be. You need to be able to understand how to get along with people who think differently and have different feelings/opinions.
He explained that when students apply for a law enforcement type of job, whatever they put on their application is highly reviewed. They have to understand that they need to be truthful because any omission in their application is subject to exclusion from the process. Students also need to be careful with social media postings. He said all of their communication stays on the internet forever. The department will look at Facebook, Twitter, and also things that students look up on the Internet. They look at how a person conducts themselves, not only in the process of becoming a police officer, but at the years before they even applied.
At the conclusion of the interview, I asked where the Chief saw himself in five years. He said hopefully he would still be in Cherry Hill serving as the Chief. The Chief wanted to let the students and staff of CH West, as well as, our whole community of Cherry Hill, know that he is proud of this department and to be a part of it! He looks forward to serving not only the officers of this department, but the people of this town for many years to come.