Mass Police, Firefighter Layoffs Begin In Camden, NJ
The officers began turning in their badges Monday as it became clear that no last-minute deal was going to save many jobs.
Located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Camden is rampant with open drug-dealing, prostitution and related crimes. More than half of Camden’s 80,000 residents, mostly black and Hispanic, live in poverty.
A local pastor says “the fear quotient has been raised,” and a police union took out a full-page newspaper advertisement last week warning that Camden would become a “living hell” if layoffs were not averted.
The city was the nation’s second-most dangerous based on 2009 data, according to CQ Press, which compiles such rankings. Camden ranked first the previous two years. In 2009, the city had 2,380 violent crimes per 100,000 residents — more than five times the national average, the FBI said.
Is this really necessary?
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