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1913 - The Borough of Middlesex is established,
seceding from Piscataway Township. |
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1913 - A system of law enforcement utilizing
Marshals is established. |
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1933 - Two Constables are hired. |
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1935 - The two man, Constable Department is
abolished. |
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1939 - The Middlesex Borough Police Department is
established with two officers: Police Chief Gurdon Fuller and
Patrolman Frank Pasek. |
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1939 - A
second-hand car is purchased and used to patrol the Borough. A room
in a building in the 700 block of Lincoln Blvd. serves as Police
Headquarters. |
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1942 -
Patrolman Andrew Simpf is hired, increasing personnel to three men.
Simpf’s salary is $1,400.00 per year. The Police Department still
uses a second-hand car, with no two-way radio, for patrol purposes.
Police Officers would answer telephone calls at Police Headquarters,
then respond to the calls. When there were no police personnel in
Headquarters, telephone calls for police were answered by a
Middlesex Borough employee, whose job was to monitor the operation
of the sewer pumping station located on River Rd. When the Borough
employee received a call for police, he would turn on the porch
light of the pumping station. When the police officer in the patrol
car passed, and observed the porch light, he would stop in at the
pumping station, knowing that there was a call. The police officer
on duty on a given evening would patrol until 3:00 AM, and then
would be “on call” at his home. |
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1943 -
About this time, the Middlesex Police Department obtained and
installed in its patrol car a two-way radio, which was on the same
frequency utilized by the Bound Brook Police Department. When not in
headquarters, officers would switch the telephone calls over to the
Bound Brook Police, who would dispatch Middlesex Police Officers to
calls via two-way radio. The Borough’s three police officers,
assisted by a few special police officers, worked six days per week,
10 hours per day, to provide the Borough with around-the-clock
police protection. |
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1943 -
With Police Headquarters now on Bound Brook Rd., at Garden Place,
police officers were required to shovel coal into the furnace before
beginning their patrol. On Sundays, officers would report to Police
Headquarters in plain clothes to clean the coal furnace and to clean
headquarters. One small room in the headquarters building was used
as the Municipal Court. Because police headquarters was not equipped
with a jail cell, when arrests were made the prisoners were taken to
the Dunellen Police Department. |
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1948 -
The Borough of Middlesex purchased the building located at the
corner of Bound Brook Rd. and North Lincoln Ave., known as the
“Conover Home.” This building, built in 1837, was part of a 135 acre
farm. Police Headquarters was relocated to the Conover Home, where a
room was set aside. This move pleased the police officers as the
Conover Home was equipped with an oil burning furnace, so that
officers were no longer required to shovel coal. |
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1962 -
Patrolman Sylvester Conrad is hired, bringing the number of police
officers to fifteen. The Police Department moves into its newly
built headquarters in the Municipal Building at 1200 Mountain Ave.
This building provides the room that the department, which has
expanded considerably, needs to function. |
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1962 -
Chief Gurdon Fuller retires. |
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1963 -
Andrew Simpf, who served as Acting Chief since Gurdon Fuller’s
retirement, is sworn in as Chief of Police. The Police Department
now employs 17 officers. |
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1972 -
Patrolman James Benson is hired, increasing the number of police
officers to 30. |
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1974 -
The Police Department hires its first civilian employee, Cynthia
(Keiser) Chomen to do clerical duties. |
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1981 -
Andrew Simpf retires as Chief of Police, leaving a department that
has grown to 31 officers. Sylvester Conrad is sworn in as Chief of
Police. The Department now has 7 police vehicles and has established
a Traffic Division. The Police Department modernizes its operations
by installing a National Crime Information Center Computer at
headquarters. |
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1986 -
The Police Department continues to modernize, adding an in-house
computer to maintain police dispatch records. Previously, dispatch
records made for calls were logged manually. |
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1989 - A
monument is dedicated to all officers of the department, past and
present. |
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1989 -
The Police Department establishes a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education) Unit, assigning one officer to the unit, which expanded
to two officers in 1995. |
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1991 -
Sylvester Conrad retires as Chief of Police. |
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1992 -
James L. Benson is sworn in as Chief of Police, and serves in that
capacity to date. The Police Department implements a uniform change,
from the light blue shirts worn by Sergeants and Patrol Officers and
white shirts worn by command personnel, to dark blue shirts. |
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1993 -
The Police Department establishes a Crime Prevention Unit and
assigns two officers to the unit. The Crime Prevention Unit’s
Officers work with the residents and business owners of the borough
to reduce crime. |
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1994 -
The Police Department adopts a new, shield-style badge. |
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1996 -
The Police Department purchases three mobile computer terminals
(MCT's)
for use in patrol cars. These laptop computers enable officers to
perform inquires of the N.C.I.C. computer and the New Jersey
Division of Motor Vehicle Services computer and to communicate with
headquarters electronically. An additional two MCT Units are added
late in 1996 and early 1997. |
