What does Mount Laurel's first female chief have planned for police department?

MOUNT LAUREL – A college graduate with a sociology degree was working retail jobs when she started volunteering as a first responder in her North Jersey hometown, but she had no idea what the future would hold for her own life.

“We often answered calls along with the police and as an EMT I got to see them work firsthand. I witnessed their bravery and dedication and how they tried to make a difference as a public servant — and it seemed exciting to me," said Judy Lynn Schiavone of her time in Lyndhurst in Bergen County.

“That’s when I decided to become a police officer.”

Schiavone completed the New Jersey State Police Academy for Municipal Officers and was hired fulltime 24 years ago by the Mount Laurel Police Department after a brief stint as a police dispatcher in North Arlington, also in Bergen County.This week, she made local history by becoming the first woman to lead the township’s full-time, 73-member police department. She was sworn in at the Jan. 2 township council reorganization after her promotion by council from deputy police chief to chief, following the Jan. 1 retirement of police chief Stephen Riedener.  “I am proud to be standing there and … It’s  humbling,” she said after her swearing-in by another successful woman and local resident, state Assemblywoman and Majority Whip Carol Murphy, D-Mount Laurel. There was an overflow crowd and township police officers lined up along the council chamber walls.

”There were so many people there and many whom I did not know and who were proud of me, so it was humbling to have all that support behind me,” she said later.

Recent years have been more challenging for the department because of the coronavirus pandemic that arrived in early 2020, the struggle to hire more women and minority officers, a racial episode at a condominium complex and the rise of hate and bias crimes not just locally but in the state and nation.

Schiavone said the goal of hiring more minorities and women should be more achievable this year because the state has changed some of its Civil Service rules to make hiring somewhat easier. Minorities make up about 30 percent of the township’s population of more than 44,000 but less than 11 percent of its police force.

“We will go out there and work hard to get more females and minorities on the force,” said the new chief, one of only three female officers in the department and a graduate of Montclair State University who holds a bachelor's in social services.

After the racial incident in 2021 at a condominium development, the arrest of a white residents on stalking and bias intimidation charges and a protest against police inaction by Black neighbors who had filed complaints about the suspect's relentless racial harassment, the township formed a diversity and inclusion board that includes police and brings residents together to empower the community and show that local government works for and represents residents of all backgrounds.

A Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office investigation had cleared Mount Laurel police of any wrongdoing or favoritism in the delay to arrest the suspect because it required evidence beyond a racial slur, but its report also concluded police could have handled earlier complaints differently to defuse or resolve the problem.

“We meet with the township diversity and inclusion board once a month and we have an in-person, informal session with them. We attend community events that are planned like Discussions and Desserts to bring residents together,” the police chief said.

“Everyone learns from everyone else and, in my opinion, the more times you sit down and have talks, the greater the understanding and strides you make.”

She also is retaining the police department’s community relations bureau created by Riedener to hold children’s programs and other community events like coffee-with-a-cop sessions.” It’s important and already has made an impact,” the chief said.

Schiavone’s elevation to chief tops a string of groundbreaking firsts she has achieved in departmental promotions.

She was the first woman to achieve the rank of sergeant in 2008 and continued her rise as the first female lieutenant and then as the first female deputy chief, serving the past five years under Riedener.

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Throughout her career in Mount Laurel, Schiavone has served as commander of the administrative division and of the operations division, which covers patrol, traffic and K-9, and additionally served as a hostage negotiator.

She said one of her other goals is to acquire more advanced technology for police to utilize.

Riedener said his successor’s best qualities are her openness and her ability to establish rapport with the rank and file. “She will continue to be a great asset to the department,” he predicted.

Township council also honored Riedener for his 26 years of service after the reorganization swearing-in of Mayor Stephen Steglik and Councilwoman Fozia Janjua as deputy mayor. The New Jersey Department of Homeland Security investigation bureau also presented Riedener with an award for outstanding cooperation from his department in joint investigative efforts.

Riedener, who implemented body-worn cameras and oversaw expansion of the department, said he felt it was the right time to leave a new chief could bring in fresh ideas. "Right now I am just looking for other job opportunities and hopefully develop another career."

Carol Comegno loves telling stories about South Jersey life, history and military veterans for the Courier Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. If you have a story to share, call her at 609-533-0306 or email  ccomegno@gannettnj.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Mount Laurel promotes first female officer to police chief