Published in the Courier News on February 10, 2001

Grocery store in Bound Brook
welcomes presence of police

BOUND BROOK -- If Raymond Lix had his way, there'd be a police substation in every one of the ShopRite
stores covered by the district loss prevention manager. The substation that opened here about two months ago
wasn't brought in to crack down on shoplifting, Lix said -- the store has five private detectives in plain clothes for
that -- it's to make shoppers feel safer and more confident. Lix said a police officer spends some time in every
one of the 22 ShopRites in his district, with manned substations in Neptune and Lakewood.

Bound Brook got its station not because the store has a high crime rate, Lix said -- it doesn't -- but because it
has the space.

"Everywhere we have officers we've gotten nothing but positive feedback," Lix said. "If we had the space
elsewhere, we'd have it everywhere."

Police Chief Kenneth Henderson said the substation gives his office another opportunity for direct contact with
the public they're charged to protect. An officer mans the booth in the supermarket's lobby each day during
business hours. The store pays the borough the officer's overtime rate, which ranges from $30 to $50 an hour.
The officer is available to answer public questions about law enforcement, give out materials about safety and
help with lock-outs or other minor emergencies.

Having an officer around does make it safer. A visible police presence does tend to discourage potential
wrong-doers, he said.

"We've had things out here, shoplifting, but it's pretty sporadic. And we've definitely seen less of it since we've
been here," he said.

Somerset County prosecutor called the arrangement "a great idea" and praised the Bound Brook
department for its many community policing initiatives, including having police eat lunch with
students.

"You know, when we had the DARE program, people asked `Well, why do you need cops in the schools?' and
now we've seen all the benefits of the program. They said the same thing about having officers in high schools,
and we've seen all the good things that come from that," he said.

Carla Thomas of Bridgewater said she didn't mind the police presence, but didn't particularly feel a need for it.

"I shop here all the time and I've never felt in the least bit threatened or afraid to go into the parking lot," she
said.

Paula Harris of North Plainfield said getting the police out into the public is a good thing.

"It's much better to have them out here where we can talk to them, they're accessible, and not remote," she said.


from the Courier News

Published on February 10, 2001


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