100 days in, NJ's takeover of the Paterson police is a work in progress. Here's why
PATERSON — From the drug addicts nodding off on the library steps to the vagrants shuffling around outside the liquor stores, Broadway had loomed as the embodiment of the ills that plagued Paterson.
It was the gateway to the city that made residents and public officials cringe.
That has changed in recent weeks after a police crackdown using state-funded overtime cleaned up the thoroughfare. Now community leaders are using Broadway as a barometer for evaluating the effectiveness of the state’s takeover of the Paterson Police Department, which recently passed the 100-day mark.
“For the first time in decades, there’s safe passage,” Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter said, describing her trips down Broadway for Sunday services at St. Luke’s Baptist Church. “It’s visual evidence that change is working.”
But Paterson Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas offered a different assessment of the recent effort on Broadway, engineered by the Police Department’s state-appointed Officer in Charge Isa Abbassi, a retired New York City cop.
“Abbassi has brought in this broken-windows style of policing on Broadway that’s infringing on people’s constitutional rights,” Thomas said. “It’s making people move off the street, but it’s not solving any of the problems. It’s not solving the poverty, it’s not solving the houselessness, it’s not solving the joblessness.”
'Taking back Broadway': Paterson police put new focus on longtime desolation row
'Willingness ... to achieve change'
Various people had different expectations on March 27 when New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced the state takeover of the Police Department, after weeks of protests over the fatal cop shooting of city activist Najee Seabrooks.
Platkin said the intervention was designed to restore public confidence in a department beset with such scandals as the infamous “robbery squad” cops who imposed beatings and shakedowns on people they illegally stopped.
In an interview Thursday afternoon, Abbassi told Paterson Press that the main challenge he faces is rebuilding trust in the Police Department, a task he said confronts law enforcement agencies across the country.
“The biggest surprise to me so far has been the willingness of both the community and of the department to achieve change,” he said. “The willingness is there on both sides.”
Abbassi, whose work in Paterson started about six weeks after the state takeover, expressed enthusiasm for his mission, one in which he said he strives to combine “constitutional policing with crime reduction.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” he said. "I love the department, I love the city, I love the energy here.”
Abbassi cited statistics showing significant decreases in lawlessness in Paterson compared with 2022:
A 41.7% drop in murders.
A 20.8% drop in shooting incidents.
An 11.4% drop in shooting victims.
A 7.7% drop in overall crime.
“You’re seeing the makings of change,” he said.
Advocates still seek accountability, transparency
But Thomas said the state takeover was not about improving the city’s crime numbers.
“For many of us, the state takeover was about the lack of transparency and the lack of accountability in the Paterson Police Department,” said the BLM activist. “So far, I haven’t heard any of those things being addressed.”
Jason Williams, a justice professor at Montclair State University who closely follows public safety issues in Paterson, said the state should have issued a 100-day report that focused on changes designed to rebuild trust.
“Right now, there’s a lack of information about what’s been done in the community-building context,” Williams said. “They should have benchmarks about how the community is feeling about what’s happening. It should not be just about stifling crime.”
Abbassi conducted a series of six “listening” meetings during his first two weeks on the job in May and has scheduled a citywide virtual session for next Wednesday. He said he plans to issue a two-year strategic plan for the Police Department in September.
Abbassi said the “neighborhood stabilization” effort that has taken place on Broadway since June — a combination of extra walking and vehicle patrols — will be replicated in two or three other locations in Paterson. He said he is not ready to reveal exactly where those will be.
Platkin said he is committed to providing Abbassi the resources he needs to improve the department.
“Since my office took responsibility for the Paterson Police Department approximately 100 days ago, the impact of the changes that have taken place within the operations of the department have been felt throughout the city of Paterson,” the attorney general said in a written statement.
“From building relationships with residents, organizations and young people to improving technology and enhanced training for the members of the department, the Paterson Police Department is listening, responding, building trust, and making a difference in the lives of Paterson residents,” Platkin continued.
Complete coverage: Najee Seabrooks case full coverage: From the Paterson police shooting, to Platkin takeover
Additional resources still to come
The state budget for the year that started on July 1 provided an extra $10 million for the Paterson Police Department, money officials said has been used for the Broadway crackdown. Neither the department nor the Attorney General’s Office has provided a detailed accounting of how that money will be spent.
Mason Maher, president of the union that represents Paterson’s ranking police officers, said unprecedented amounts of overtime have been used to create a massive police presence on the streets of the city.
But the state has not revealed whether the $10 million will be a one-time infusion or ongoing annual support. “We’re waiting to see whether the help the state is providing will be long-term,” Maher said.
Union leaders said the Police Department has been understaffed ever since 125 cops were laid off in budget cuts in 2011. Before the layoffs, the city had about 525 cops. In recent years, the state has imposed a maximum limit of 439 police officers for Paterson, and the city has consistently been below that number.
“We have skeleton crews in the detective bureau, narcotics and juvenile,” Maher said.
Abbassi told Paterson Press that he’s in the process of evaluating exactly how many officers the city should have. Paterson is New Jersey’s third-most-populous municipality, and Maher said other high-crime cities in the state have far more officers per resident than Paterson does.
More: The Paterson Police Department will see a massive infusion from NJ's new budget: How much?
'Heading in the right direction'
The state takeover announcement four months ago caught high-ranking and rank-and-file members of the Paterson Police Department off guard. Some privately expressed displeasure that a popular new police chief, Engelbert Ribeiro, was relieved of duty just weeks after he took the oath of office.
But Abbassi has won over many city cops.
“I feel positive about his involvement,” said Pat Caserta, a lawyer who works through the police unions to represent Paterson officers facing lawsuits or disciplinary proceedings. “From the feedback I’m getting, he’s heading in the right direction.”
Councilman Luis Velez, who was a constant critic of former Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora, said morale in the department has improved since Abbassi came to Paterson. Velez also praised Abbassi’s focus on quality-of-life problems and crime hotspots.
“He’s making a good start,” the councilman said. “He’s been keeping his promises.”
Mayor Andre Sayegh issued a brief statement when asked about the first 100 days of the state takeover, saying his office has been working with Abbassi on the Broadway initiative.
“Moreover, we are eager to receive a plan from the state relative to the allocation of resources for Paterson,” the mayor said.
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.
Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ police: State takeover at 100 days is a work in progress
