Rowan University and the Borough of Glassboro maintain their own police departments and responsibilities often overlap between the two in this growing college town, where population swells from 19,000 to 35,000 when fall and spring classes are in session.
Given the close relationship between police agencies, borough and university officials want to find out if there are ways the two agencies can collaborate and function more efficiently. They are seeking a consultant to study the matter and return recommendations.
A consultant could suggest anything from new ways the agencies can work together to a full merger of the two departments, though a merger is not the intention of this exercise, officials stressed.
The police departments already work closely, said Bob Zazzali, Rowan’s senior vice president for community and economic development. If Rowan officers spot someone speeding through the borough, “they are actually able to engage that individual,” he said. If Glassboro officers spot trouble on campus, they will get involved, too.
Rowan and Glassboro police collaborate in some operations, too, including weekend party patrols in neighborhoods on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. In regular meetings between the borough and Rowan representatives, the idea of looking for new ways to collaborate developed, explained borough administrator Joe Brigandi. “It makes sense to take a look,” Brigandi said, noting that the departments have a good working relationship. “It’s good but it could always be improved,” he added.