Toms River, NJ police opening their doors to the public

On Saturday, May 20, the Toms River Police Department is opening up its doors to you and your family. It's an excellent opportunity to bring your kids and check out all the police, fire, and EMS equipment that will be on display.

I want to thank my friend Jillian Messina who serves as the information officer for the department and our friend Mitch Little who continues to serve the community with honor as the chief.

This is a great opportunity for you to dispose of those old prescription drugs that are piling up in the medicine cabinet. There will be a drop box at the municipal alliance table at the headquarters.

It's also an opportunity for you to make sure that your child's car seat is installed properly. The officers will offer a free check to ensure your kids are safe as you travel Jersey roads.

So whether it's for the drug drop off, the safety check or just to meet and greet the men and women who stand up every day for our families and community.

As I say often, we need to implement several policies that will make the job of our LEOs safer and empower them to restore the quality of life threatened by the current rise in crime. So-called "bail reform" must be suspended on Day One. We have a duty to end the revolving door of perpetrators accused of dealing fentanyl, stealing cars, domestic violence, and more.

Next, every criminal who was released due to "COVID" would be given a 24 amnesty to turn themselves back in or face additional charges. No criminal accused, convicted, or sentenced should serve one day less than the sentence they were handed.

Then we need to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to act on detainer orders issued from judges to criminal aliens accused of everything from child sex abuse to counterfeiting. Of course one of the most important steps we can take is to ensure all judicial vacancies are filled so we can deal with the current backlog of criminal cases.

I'm hearing that many county jails are operating at 60% capacity or LESS, it's time to fill them back up with the people making our neighborhoods unsafe.

Rounding out the immediate action list is a restoration of COLA, a cost of living adjustment that helps our retired hero cops and firefighters keep up with the rising cost of living after putting in at least two decades serving the public and risking their safety and lives.

Stay tuned for more on the policy changes that I believe we need to implement immediately, if not sooner in order to make New Jersey the place to live, work, raise a family, start a business, and eventually retire. We need to live up to our state motto "Liberty and Prosperity". And that all starts by backing the Blue. It's time we start electing leaders who get it.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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